The Final Countdown
by Grenna-Chae
Summary: Post-Labyrinth Pre-Olympian. Annabeth has come to visit Percy after 6 months, but Annabeth's vivid dreams of her mother fling them off onto yet another quest, to save Athena, the goddess of wisdom. How did she get caught in the first place? COMPLETE! :D
1. We Kill the Dead

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters in the _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_ series. They belong solely to Rick Riordan.

I had made it through the first semester of high school when the monsters showed up again.

How dandy was that?

I had been doing pretty well, considering my 'supposed' ADHD and 'supposed' dyslexia. My grades were in the C range, which was pretty darn good. I had even scraped up a few low B's as well, which made my mom thrilled. It also put her a bit closer to Mr. Blofis, who had gotten me into that school in the first place. She was extremely grateful, and everybody could tell. She had him come over every Saturday for dinner and dessert, and I knew well enough that I needed to give them some place once in a while.

I didn't.

It was extremely hard for me to try to stay away from my mother—she was just so happy all the time, and always made me feel better with her blue cookies and loving smile when I was feeling down about something, usually about Grover, Tyson, or Annabeth. Most of the time, though, I was wondering what they were doing. I was sure that Grover was doing something that he loved, like collecting tin cans, and Tyson was making amazing swords for the upcoming war. But I mostly worried about Annabeth: how was she doing in her school? Where her parents treating her alright? Did she ever think of me? I surely hoped that she did, at least half as often as I thought of her. That would mean every other day, though. Had she been eaten by monsters? I hadn't heard from her since December, when she emailed me last. It was near the middle of January, and she still hadn't replied to me. I hoped she was okay...

"Percy!" Rachel Elizabeth Dare hissed at me, kicking my chair. I glowered at her, but she knew that I was thankful for her. I had been prone to zone out more frequently lately, and she was the only one who made sure that I made it to my classes on time, even though I only had two with her. She still helped more than she knew in those two classes: literature, which I was terrible at with my dyslexia, and math, with my ADHD. I couldn't just sit around and solve some Algebra problems; I needed to move around, clear my head, and actually use my battle reflexes from time to time. But until that day, I had received no practice whatsoever, unless practicing with Riptide in my room every day counted.

"Sorry," I whispered under my breath, copying the problem that the teacher was scribbling on the board. She nodded her head slightly, letting me know, "Yeah, okay, now _pay attention!_" That was her usual response when we actually talked.

The door opened, and the secretary who was newly-hired walked in, carrying a few pink and white slips of papers. Rachel stiffened in her seat as she glanced at her, and her eyes cut across to mine, sending me a silent warning. _This is not a human_.

My muscles tensed reflexively, and my hands balled up into fists. The teacher looked up, pushed her glasses up on her nose, and took the slip of paper that the secretary handed her. She read it quickly, then looked around the room.

"Percy Jackson?" she called out, searching for me. I stood up and went to the front of the room, where the aging teacher handed me the slip of paper. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the secretary look at me, her eyes looking into mine and narrowing. I tried to see past the Mist, but it was hard to do that without openly staring.

Walking back to my seat, I read what was on the paper. _Your mother called and asked that you do not take the bus this afternoon. _Hey, that was perfectly cool with me. I never liked riding the bus anyways; it was loud, crowded, and smelly. And it looked like a Twinkie. Who wanted to ride in a piece of soggy cake?

The bell rang, and we all oozed out the door, pushing against one another to leave first. Rachel was waiting for me outside the classroom while I caught up—she always made her way out of the class first—and she fell into step besides me.

"What'd it say?" she wondered, looking up at me. I glanced down real quick, then looked away.

"My mom's going to pick me up after school today. I don't have to ride in the stink bomb today." Whenever I looked at Rachel, I though of Annabeth and our adventure last summer, when we had gone through the Labyrinth. And she had kissed me...Annabeth, not Rachel.

Rachel tugged on my sleeve to pull me out of the way of a couple bulky seniors. "Watch where you're going!" she half-laughed, half-scowled. "You'll get run over. It's a wonder that you haven't been killed yet." She shook her head sadly.

"Hey!" I protested, shoving her a little bit. She tried to shove me back, but I held my ground. "That wasn't very nice. Apologize."

"I apologize, Percy Jackson," she replied sarcastically. "But it's true!" She wasn't going to let it go, was she?

"It may be," I allowed, just this once, "but you don't have to point it out all the time." She stuck her tongue out at me as we parted ways, heading to our lockers in the hallway. I shoved a couple boys of of my way and gathered the books that I needed for my final class of the day—history.

I shiver went down my spine, raising the hairs on my arms, and I turned around to see the back of the secretary walking in the opposite direction. I slammed the door shut, and stalked off in the other direction.

History passed in a blur. I kept thinking about the secretary. She was definitely not human, that much I could tell. She smelled of death, and I didn't like that smell. No offense to Nico di Angelo, but he smelled faintly of death as well. I never worried too much about him.

Eventually class was over, after talking about the Great Depression for forty minutes. I headed back to my locker, and smiled when I saw Rachel, trying to get through a bunch of giggling girls who squealed as I walked by. I shot them all dirty looks. I wasn't smiling at _them._

I was surprised to find a voice-mail on my cell phone—for monster emergencies only—when I turned it on. Selecting the correct button, I held it up to my ear and listened.

"_Hey, Percy, in case you didn't get the note, I'm going to pick you up today," _ my mother's cheerful voice said. _"And there's a surprise, too." _I deleted the message as I opened the front doors to the school and looked around the crowded parking lot. I saw my mom wave her hand at me three rows back, and I quickly made my way towards her, ignoring the people who shoved me.

"Mom," I greeted, tossing my backpack into the back seat as I climbed in.

"Ow!" a voice yelped from the back. I spun around as Annabeth shimmered into existence before my eyes. Her blond hair was long and curled, her gray eyes sparkling as she looked at me. She tucked her Yankees cap into her bag beside her.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," she greeted, smiling.

"Wise Girl," I replied, smirking.

"Annabeth, will you please tell me why you are here now?" my mom complained, pulling out of the parking lot. I grinned and pulled out a bag of completely blue M&M's and tossed them to her. She caught them and started nibbling.

"Well," she started, fingering the hem of her white shirt under her winter jacket. "The monsters found me again, so I left. My parents know where I am, and I don't think that they'll come after me. They didn't before." I could hear the sadness leaking into her voice, and I had a strange urge to reach back and hold her hand.

My mother made some small talk on the way back to our apartment, but it was half-hearted. She could tell, as well as I, that Annabeth didn't want to talk. I let her be, suppressing the questions that I wanted to ask her.

Something hit the roof, hard. We all flinched, and my mom jerked the steering wheel to the right, making the turn into the apartment complex sharply. I grabbed the door handle as she straightened out and swerved into a parking space.

Annabeth and I leaped out, and I drew Riptide out of my pocket, the celestial bronze sword glinting in the cold sunlight. Annabeth disappeared beside me, and the secretary leaped down off the car, only she wasn't the secretary anymore. She had large wings, half-bird half-woman. She was very ugly looking, with her chicken feet and sharp claws.

"You cannot run for long, Perseus," she cawed at me. "One day soon you will fall." She lunged at me, and I nimbly sidestepped and jabbed with my sword, piercing one of her wings. She screamed a terrible shriek, and rounded on me. I knife suddenly protruded from her chest, and she quickly dissolved into ash and sand. Annabeth appeared right next to me.

"Couldn't let you have all the fun," she teased. Standing next to me, I realized that I was at least an inch taller than she was. I shrugged.

"True, but she was too easy," I pointed out. "Usually I'm hanging onto my life by my teeth."

"I think they sent her just to give you a warning, a threat," Annabeth reasoned. Her gray eyes glinted beautifully.

"Maybe. But wasn't she a Harpy?" I asked, walking over and retrieving Annabeth's knife.

"Yeah, but they're related with the dead." She took the knife from me, and for a moment our skin touched, hers soft and warm. My mom clambered out of the car.

"Well, I think that's enough excitement for one day," she said in a shaky voice.

"Yeah," we replied simultaneously. I looked at her sideways, and she looked at me and grinned. I felt my face beginning to heat up, so I grabbed my backpack and Annabeth's bag out of the car. When I turned around, I saw my mom looking back and forth between us.

"Let's go," I mumbled, tossing Annabeth's bag to her.

A/N: Just FYI, there will be Percy&Annabeth later! Please review!


	2. I Get Kicked Out

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

We climbed the stairs quickly, anxious to get out of the enclosed space. I could tell that my mom was paranoid about another attack, and this was one of the worse places in the apartment complex for that, where any one of us could fall to our deaths. I tried to stay optimistic.

My mom fumbled with the key for a minute before she turned it, the door clicking open. We piled inside, and Annabeth and I plopped down on the couch next to each other, thankful that it hadn't been any worse than it had been. I thought occurred to me, and I took no time in musing over it; I just blurted it out.

"Annabeth," I began slowly for once, "Where are you going to go to school if…if you stay?" It was surely a question worthy of Athena in my standards. Knowing me, Annabeth was probably wondering if I was going to ask whether or not she would stay in our apartment or at a hotel. She shrugged.

"Well, I assumed that I'd go to school with you," she said. That made sense. Scratch that about it being worthy of Athena.

"Oh," was my brilliant response. "But how…"

"How will I register, get my classes and whatnot? Your mom'll help me. She already offered to work that out. Great, right?" She seemed genuinely pleased with this. That lifted my spirits. "And she already got me settled in a room." She looked at me sideways. I pondered this for a split second, and then I realized who's room she'd gotten.

"Wait—she gave you _my_ room?" Annabeth nodded.

"She said not to worry about it, because I was the guest." She looked a little shamefaced, but I didn't care.

"Hope you don't mind the mess," was all I said.

"I'm used to it, Seaweed Brain," she informed me. I scowled at her, but I couldn't keep the smile off my face for long.

"Anybody up for a movie?" my mom called from the kitchen. "I got a pretty good one that I picked up today, and I have popcorn and blue candy." Yes, always blue candy.

"Sure," Annabeth called back, leaning over the back of the couch and stretching her neck to try to see her.

"Don't break your neck, sweetie," my mom chuckled, coming in and putting a hand on her head. "Who's up for 'The Mist'?"

The movie was alright, I'd give it that much. But if all that Hollywood could come up with were monsters that no one ever saw because they hid in this 'mist', then they were lacking in creativity. Now, say that they used a few three-headed monsters, a couple of immortal gods, sirens, and mixed in with a few magical items, then maybe they'd get somewhere. As it was, I had more adventure when I was twelve than those people locked in the grocery store had in their entire lives. Honestly.

When the movie was finished it was a little bit after six, and I was hungry. We had eaten the blue candy and popcorn, but that was gone within five minutes. I think I ate half of it by myself.

"What'd you think?" my mom asked, turning in her seat. I shrugged. But Annabeth gave her full opinion.

"It was mediocre. The plot was alright, but the heights that some of those monsters were supposed to be doesn't make much sense, when taken critically. Take the scene with the big flies. Their bodies are way too heavy for their wings to carry them. Now, if…" And she went on for another minute and a half, according to my watch/shield Tyson had made me. I took it off only when…well, never.

"What?" Annabeth suddenly snapped at me. "Do I ramble too much?" I looked up at her in surprise.

"N-no," I stuttered. Stupid reaction. "I just can't keep up with you. You know that." I frowned slightly. It was a partial lie—I could understand her when I was paying attention and she explained the things that I didn't know, but she took a lot of pride in being the daughter of Athena. The best thing was just to let her have her own way sometimes.

"Percy, you can keep up just fine," Annabeth said, calling my bluff. "You just don't pay attention." I merely shrugged.

"Okay, sure." I got up off the couch. "Mom, what's for dinner?"

"I made a salad with bacon, eggs, croutons, green peppers, and bits of ham," she replied offhandedly. So we were eating limp leaves for dinner. I preferred to save that for the desperately-out-of-food-and-nearly-starving-to-death occasions, as few as they were. I wanted to roll my eyes, but I knew my mom was trying to get everything right for Annabeth. Wandering into my room, I noticed that the blue sheets were freshly cleaned with a closed green suitcase on it, and that my desk had been cleared off of all my odds and ends of pictures and newspaper clippings. My newest hobby was to try to find evidence of mythical creatures that humans waved off as who knows what. I hadn't been very lucky so far.

A sudden instant of inspiration hit me; who else better was there to study Greek with than Annabeth? She knew more than I did, and I could never study with my mom—she mispronounced the words all the time, making me more confused than when I started. I could still understand her, but it sounded wrong all the time.

I meandered back into the living room, but no one was there, so I tried the kitchen. Annabeth was helping my mom mix the salad, her hair pulled back out of her face in a curly ponytail. They looked happy together, which made me happy. I all but forgot about Greek. At least Annabeth could talk to my mom with her problems, unlike me. I usually made them worse. Then again, I was usually the cause, too.

"…and I'm confused," Annabeth was saying. "I'm not sure what I should…" She spotted me, and her face turned pink. "Hey, Seaweed Brain, were you eavesdropping?"

I shook my head. "No. You'd personally rip out my liver," I reasoned. Well, it would get pretty close. She smiled.

"You bet I would." My mom cleared her throat.

"No death threats in my house, please," she scolded, but it was only half-hearted. She picked up the salad bowl and headed towards the table. "At least not while I'm here." Annabeth and I looked at each other and shrugged. She'd probably threaten me as sure as Ares was still ticked. Life moves on.

We ate dinner, laughing and joking at my expense. My mother thought it would be nice to tell stories of when I was little, about how I had used to ask about my father and whatnot. Annabeth listened as if she was interested, but she was probably bored to tears under that mask. I didn't blame her.

By the time we finished eating, my face was a nice shade of bright red, and I excused myself and escaped to the bathroom, turning the water on and filling the tub to the brim. I soaked in there for a while, gaining back what strength I had lost when I had tried to hack the Harpy to pieces earlier. I heard my mom's footsteps approach, and she complained, "You need to get out of there, Perseus." I hated it when she used my actual name. It usually meant trouble. "We've decided to play a game." Oh, a game. Yeah, my ADHD wasn't going to enjoy that too much.

Reluctantly I got out of the suds and made my way out into the living room. Annabeth put a hand to her mouth and laughed, looking at my hair. I knew that it was standing up all over the place in black clumps, but I wasn't going anywhere.

"Just because I'm not a princess…" I trailed off, letting her finish that by herself. She glared at me.

"Yeah, _Perseus_," she sneered, taunting me.

"Go build a bridge," I mumbled back. "You're smart enough, Wise Girl."

"How about a cell, Seaweed Brain? That way I can keep you in it." Ooh, she was good at that, I had to hand it to her. She had it coming…

A/N: Wow, so many reviews and favorites!! I'm so thrilled that you all loved it! Please keep it up? Constructive criticism is entirely acceptable. Oh yeah, and I won't update until probably Thursday at the latest, because Spring Break is coming and all of my teachers are cramming in tests. Oh, the joy of high school.


	3. Annabeth Breaks Down

Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

It seemed like it had only been a split second when I woke up, the sun coming through the window, warming the side of my face. Then I realized what had been different from every other night since camp had ended—I hadn't had a dream. Of course, it had been the same dream every night, but whoever was in the dream always switched around. Sometimes it was Annabeth, other times it was Grover or Tyson, and, on occasion, Nico or Rachel.

In the dream, everything was very dark, but I could still tell that it was Tartarus. The gaping pit was no longer silent—other...monsters, titans, whatever...were very much alive and moving down there. I had never given much thought to what happened to the other titans, but I always awoke knowing that they were in Tartarus, although how they had gotten there was beyond me. Whoever was in the dream at the time would stand at the edge, looking down into the black pit. Voices hissed up, talking to them. I recognized some of the names that were mentioned by the other titans: Rhea mother of Zeus; Prometheus who sided with Zeus in the war against the titans. The other names I could never hear clearly, or I didn't know how to spell them to look them up. And there was no way that I was going to worry my mother about the dreams.

I was still staring at the sun, lying on the pull-out bed that collapsed into the couch, when I heard a door creak open.

Annabeth came out of my room, her long hair down, clad in purple pajamas. She rubbed the side of her face before she saw me.

"Percy," she mumbled groggily. "Do you know what time it is?" I shook my head.

"No idea." I thought for a minute. "But I would guess around eight, eight-thirty or so. Either way, it's a Saturday." My voice was no better than hers. It cracked, and my throat felt excessively dry.

"Where are the glasses?" Annabeth wondered, swallowing. I heaved myself off the bed, throwing the covers off of me. My shirt fluttered to the floor, and I bent over to pick it back up, and I slipped it on over my head. I had taken it off before I went to sleep—the room had been on the warmer side last night. Annabeth's face was turning pink, and she swallowed again.

"Come on," I urged, walking towards the kitchen. She followed right behind me, and I handed her a glass. She turned the tap on and filled it to the brim before sitting at the kitchen table, the glass between her hands.

"Know what I thought about?" she asked me. Of course I didn't.

"About building the tallest structure in the world?" I hedged, filling a glass, too.

"No," she snickered. "I was wondering about another part of your abilities."

"Oh?"

"Yes, I was. I was wondering about the _Earthshaker _part," she informed me. I nodded.

"Oh." My, I had brilliant responses today. I took a sip of the water as I slid into the chair across the table from her. In truth, I had never really wondered about that myself. I had accepted that I had the ocean. "That's an interesting thought."

"Yes, quite." She looked at me funny. "Maybe you should try."

"_Try_?" I choked out. "You know what I did to the mountain! Imagine what I would do to this city if I tried." Clearly, she hadn't thought it through. She looked thoughtful.

"True. You got your backside roasted," she recalled. "And then before that..." Her voice trailed off with a longing feeling, and she traced my hand with the tips of her fingers. She just looked at my hand, and twined her fingers though mine, refusing to meet my eyes.

"Tell me," I said after a moment, "What happened to you after I got blown to kingdom come?"

"Well," she started slowly. "That spider _did _lead me back to Hephaestus. I was following it out when I heard your scream, and then heard the rush of water, or steam, or whatever it was. I figured something had happened, but those telekhines were close to finding my scent, stupid sea demons. Otherwise I would have gone back. But I followed that spider, and I told Hephaestus what was going on, and what had happened to you. Since I was by myself, he re-programmed the spider to help me return to Camp Half-Blood.

"When I got there, everyone was really surprised to see me. Then I told them what happened to you, and they explained what happened at Mt. St. Helens. I could hardly believe that you made the whole mountain explode." She shook her head and drew her hand back My hand tingled. "We all prayed to the gods for days, hoping that you had miraculously survived. At the end of two weeks, we had planned your funeral." Her voice turned sad. "We really had thought that you were gone, Seaweed Brain. We didn't know where you were, and I thought that the last part of the oracle had come true. And then you showed up at the back of the amphitheater. I thought I was going to pass out. You can ask anyone what I went through. I thought I had lost my best friend, Percy, and I was a mess." A single tear rolled don her cheek, and she wiped it away, embarrassed by the look on her face.

We didn't say anything for a while, but then I broke the sad silence.

"When I was marooned, Calypso asked me about you guys. Apparently, I had been talking about you in my sleep," I admitted sheepishly.

"Really?" Annabeth's voice arched slightly. I nodded.

"Yeah. I had to stay in bed for a while—my little stunt had really drained me. So, naturally, I slept a lot, and so I talked a lot." I grinned.

"Way to go, Seaweed Brain." She dipped her fingers in her glass and then flicked them at me, getting my face all wet.

"You don't want to mess with me, Annabeth," I warned. "I could drench you with a single glance." She rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't dare," she stated confidently. I raised an eyebrow.

"Not in the apartment..." I let her finish the rest. She flicked more water at me as my mom walked in.

"Don't get the kitchen all wet, please. I'm sure Percy will do that by himself soon enough." She had her hair pulled back and a bathrobe on.

"Thanks a lot, mom. I'm glad you have so much confidence in me." She came over and mused my hair.

"Maybe Annabeth could show you how to use a comb," she said, trying to pat my hair down. I shook my head.

"I've got bigger things to worry about other than how my hair looks. I'm not a girl." I stuck my tongue out at her, and she just smiled at me like a mother would. "Besides, I need to practice Greek more than my hair needs tamed."

"We can practice later," Annabeth promised. "But let's eat something first." I nodded.

"Let's see what we have." My mom left the table to go into the kitchen. Annabeth and I got up to follow, and I gave her hand a quick squeeze, letting her know that I appreciated what she did. I didn't look to measure her reaction; I was trying not to turn too red.

In the kitchen, I went to help my mom pick out something to eat. Annabeth sniffled in the corner, and we both turned around to look at her.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" my mom asked, holding a spatula.

"I was just thinking," she mumbled, ducking her head and wiping at her eyes. I could feel my mom's gaze on me, and I looked up. She jerked her head in Annabeth's direction, and I took the hint. I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to me. She was warm and soft, just like her hand in mine had been. Her arms slid around my waist and she held on tight, starting to really cry now, her whole body shaking. She buried her head in my shoulder, and I was so happy that I was there, comforting her as she cried her pretty eyes out, but so upset that she was sad.

"You alright?" I asked stupidly. I felt her nod.

"I don't like thinking about those two weeks very much," she said into my shoulder. "I never thought that I could miss someone so annoying so much." She chuckled then, and let her arms dropped, wiping away her tears. I brushed one away that she missed, and she smiled at me.

"Your shirt's all wet. Sorry," she apologized.

"Doesn't matter," I promised. "I'm used to it." She nodded and sniffled again, before giving me a wry smile and disappearing into my room. I turned to my mom.

"Did I do okay?" I asked. She smiled warmly.

"Yes. I'll think you'll do alright." Thanks for the vote of confidence, mom! "What would you like for breakfast? Waffles, pancakes, cereal?"

"I don't know. Whatever you'd like to get."

"Hmm. You should go and get dressed first. I'll see what I can cook up."

She went overboard. Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, orange juice, milk. Who knew that she could cook so much in an hour?

Annabeth and I practiced Greek while we waited, her saying a sentence, and me trying to translate it. It worked better when I wasn't paying too much attention to it—it came naturally. Of course, my mom had no idea what she was saying, so she couldn't ruin it for me, like she did on occasion when I was struggling.

"Come on, Percy," she groaned. "It's not that hard. Come on. Try."

"I am trying!" I said, outraged. "What do you think I'm doing? Trying to make you angry?"

"Well, you're doing a good job of that!" she retorted angrily, throwing her hands up in the air. "Honestly, you're making it worse than it really is."

"We both know that I'm not nearly as smart as you. It takes me some times to get things, Annabeth!" I huffed, crossed my arms across my chest, and proceeded to glare at the wall. I felt Annabeth's gaze on me, but I didn't look.

"I don't think that at all, Percy. You just don't like taking the time to do something that you don't use all the time. Or something that you don't _think _you can use." That time I couldn't help but look at her.

"And how do you know this?" I wondered, putting my elbows on my knees, resting my head on my fists.

"Because I _know you_, Seaweed Brain." She rolled her eyes. "Nearly four years, Percy, I've been your friend. I know who you are."

"That's sounds like something a villain would say in a movie. 'I know who you are.'" She looked at me incredulously, then knocked my arms out from under my head., trying not to laugh at me.

"Breakfast!" my mom called to us. We got up and went into the kitchen to stuff our faces.

A/N: I wasn't expecting to update so swiftly. So it will probably take a while for the next chapter to be up, and I tried making this one slightly longer than the last two. Please tell me what you think! There are a lot of you who have read this (300 hits to date!) and only a few have reviewed. I know you're out there... Please?? Kudos if you review!


	4. Finally!

Disclaimer: I do not, unfortunately, own PJATO series.

That Saturday went by faster than the other ones usually did. Normally, by two o'clock, I would be ready to take down a whole army of monsters, that's how bored I would be. But with Annabeth here, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.

We I-Med Grover around twelve, using the steam from the shower, and we talked to him for about three minutes.

"Grover!" Annabeth and I exclaimed, trying to catch his attention. He jumped, let out a bleat, and saw us.

"Hey, Percy, Annabeth!" he called back, grinning from ear to ear. He had his hat on and his fake stuffed shoes. He appeared to be in the middle of a large popular mall of some kind. "What's up?"

"Nothing, really," Annabeth supplied, "We were just wondering how everything was with you." I nodded my head in obvious agreement.

"Hiding out?" I asked. "Last time I saw you, the Council wasn't too happy with you."

"Yeah, I know," he replied sadly. "I've been out trying to find more of you—" he said the word hesitatingly "—while hiding out from them. They send scouts now and then, trying to find where I am, I think. But it's all worthless. I just keep running around all over the place. I don't know where I am half the time."

"What about Juniper?" Annabeth said, cocking her head to the side.

"I haven't heard form her in months. She's probably moved on." I could tell that he was really messed up about that. "But what about you…"

Annabeth sent him a rare death glare, and Grover turned pink. "Sorry, I was just wondering," he mumbled. "You have no idea how strangely intriguing this is for me." Cue another glare from Annabeth. "Yikes! Worse than Medusa was."

I tried not to laugh, I really did, but a short burst of it came out, half-strangled. Annabeth pushed me harder than I thought she was capable of, and I was sent sprawling on the floor. She looked remorseful for a second, but her eyes turned steely really quickly.

"Shut. Up," she demanded of me. The smile faded slowly from my face, and I scowled.

"Jeez, Wise Girl, can't you let Grover finish his sentence?" My voice was thick with complications. I really wanted to know what Grover had been going to say.

"No," she said harshly. Then, in a cheerier tone, "I'm sure that Juniper is worried sick about you. Why don't you at least send her an Iris Message?"

"Why didn't you?" Grover mumbled. I was positive that Annabeth wasn't supposed to hear, and I was surprised when she turned a bright pink.

"Because," she snapped. That was her reason. _Because_. For a daughter of Athena, you would think that she'd come up with a more complex response. Apparently her brain was a bit fried from having to deal with me sooner than she was used to.

"Well, I need to go," Grover announced sullenly. "I'll see you around."

"See ya, G-man," I replied, reverting to the old nickname I had from him. He smiled a little more warmly.

"Bye, Grover, and sorry." Annabeth wouldn't look at him.

"Promise me that you'll try," Grover said, and a look of understanding passed between them when she looked up. She nodded. The image shimmered, and I turned the shower off.

"What was he talking about?" I asked hesitatingly.

"Nothing. I shouldn't have said anything in the first place. I thought that he'd understand, considering the state of things."

"What state of things?" I pressed. We made our way to the living room, and I sat down on the couch opposite of the one Annabeth perched on. "Come on, why won't you tell me? I'm, like, your best friend, when you think about it."

"I _know_," she said, worrying her camp necklace like she always did. I don't think I've ever seen her without it, except for the time she gave it to me for luck when I was battling Ares when we were twelve. But I had been too occupied to really notice. I was worrying a bit about not dying.

"Please tell me?" I repeated. She looked into my eyes for a moment, her gray ones searching mine for something. Apparently, she found it, because she opened her mouth to speak.

"I told Grover about what happened in the mountain," she said at length. "He was the only one who truly understood how I was feeling, you know." Her face turned a beautiful shade of pink, and I got up and went to sit next to her.

"It always comes to this," I mused, reaching out a tentative hand to hold hers. "You end up in tears, and I feel like schmuck." I shook my head, and she chuckled quietly.

"I know. Never a happy ending." I had to agree with her there.

"Maybe there will be," I said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe one day, if I live, we'll look back on this and laugh."

"Yeah, if I'm not annoyed to death by you by then," Annabeth teased, becoming herself again.

I don't know what came over me in that instant when her eyes sparkled, her smile spread across her face, and she ran a hand haphazardly through her hair. Maybe I was becoming delirious or something, but either way, I couldn't stop myself from leaning towards her. I could smell her hair, and I wrapped my arm around her slender waist and pulled her closer as I slowly leaned my face to hers.

Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, and I hesitated, which, apparently, wasn't what she wanted. She kept eye contact with me as she brought her hand to my chest, grabbed a handful of my shirt and pulled me this time. Annabeth smiled shyly as our foreheads touched lightly, and I had to concentrate on breathing as my heart thundered in my rib cage.

Our lips touched, and she sighed, bringing her other hand up and around to the back of my neck, where they tangled themselves in my dark hair, the other still holding onto my shirt. I could feel my own hand caress her satin-smooth skin, and then the magic ended.

The door banged opened, and we both jumped back as my mother came through the hallway, her arms filled with brown paper bags, coming back from the grocery store. She seemed oblivious to us, sitting close by each other for a moment, and then she looked up. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"You two okay?" she asked worried. Annabeth's face was red, and I could only imagine how bright my own must have been. I nodded, and Annabeth said, "We're fine." My mom nodded once, slowly, as if she didn't quite believe what we told her, but was going to accept it anyway.

"Alright," she concluded, walking into the kitchen. "We're going later to register Annabeth, alright? Around one-thirty, I'm thinking. I called and made an appointment for two, but I don't want to be late." We both nodded as she disappeared.

I was afraid to look at Annabeth, although I could tell that she was looking at me. She mumbled something and chuckled, but I didn't catch what she said.

"What?" I asked stupidly. She grinned at me and repeated what she had said.

"Much better than thinking that you were going to die," she laughed. "I wasn't worried sick this time." I grinned, thrilled that she wasn't ready to pack her bags and leave within the hour.

"I agree." I thought for a moment. "Although, the first time was really nice, too. I was really surprised," I admitted. She blushed a deep red just as my mom came back in.

"You sure you don't have a fever or something, honey?" Annabeth worried her necklace with her father's college ring.

"No, I'm perfectly fine." She winked at me so my mom couldn't see. "Just dandy."

"If you're sure…" She walked out of the room, and I snickered.

"'Dandy?'" She nodded.

"It's a very accepted word, you know."

"You _would _know," I mocked. She hit my arm.

I had kissed one of my best friends. Her mother didn't like me, not one bit. Now what?

A/N: I promised that there would be a bit of PercyXAnnabeth! I decided to pit a little bit in here, before what comes next. It's going to be a doosey. There won't be more for a little bit. But it will clear the way for something else that I have in mind… dun dun dun! What could it be? A total of 136 people checked out the last chapter, and there is a grand total of 697 hits. I'm extremely disappointed… You might want to review, otherwise I may become depressed and never write again. It could happen. But if you guys all review, I'll be so perky that I'll spit out one a day (sounds like those pill commercials, doesn't it?). Wouldn't that be fantasmatical?


	5. Athena Calls Us

Disclaimer: I do not own PJATO series, no matter how much I want to…

One-thirty rolled along, and we all piled into my mom's car to go to the school, so Annabeth could start on Monday. The parking lot was deserted, save a single car parked by the doors closest to the main office. There was always somebody there, usually a security guard at nights, along with the receptionist during the day.

We arrived with ten minutes to spare, so while we waited, I gave Annabeth a tour, pointing out the various classrooms, science labs, et cetera. We made one full circuit around the school by the time two o'clock came.

All three of us entered the rather large office, and the secretary looked up, her eyes telling me that she had been expecting us.

"Ms. Jackson?" she asked, rifling through a bunch of papers on her desk.

"That's me," she replied, smiling widely. "I'd like to register a new student."

"Are you the guardian?" She correctly assumed that Annabeth wasn't my mom's daughter. They looked nothing alike. And that would be so weird…

"Yes," she said swiftly. "This is Annabeth Chase. She will be enrolled until the end of the school year, unless something else comes up."

"Could I see identification?"

They both went through all of this legal stuff, and eventually the only words I could pick out were 'and' 'the' 'Annabeth' and 'schedule.' If that were me trying to figure it out, the receptionist would be hoarse with repeating the same thing so many times.

Eventually everything was all figured out, and Annabeth was handed her schedule. She peered at it, pursing her lips tightly, as if she wanted to refuse for some reason. The receptionist said that the principle or president of the school needed to verify her documents, and she said that she would let Annabeth know tomorrow evening.

That night we watched a movie that was on television, but I didn't really pay attention. I could feel Annabeth shifting a lot next to me, and I wondered if she was thinking what I was thinking about. It wasn't hard to guess what was on my mind the whole entire time, but Annabeth could be so distant, like she was now, acting differently than I was used to. So there was no way to tell unless I asked her, which I was surely not going to do.

That night I stayed up, looking at the stars through the kitchen window, thinking about how complicated life was. There was no way that Athena would ever like me enough to approve of me being Annabeth's friend, let alone her boyfriend. Ugh. It was so hard to think the word, because I knew that that's what I wanted to be for her. Someone to be there for her when she needed, because there was little chance that she'd need me to protect her. Most of the time, I think, she protected _me_. I would have to work on that, I decided wearily.

Eventually, I was able to climb back onto the pull-out bed and fall asleep, but someone shook me awake what felt like two seconds later. I mumbled "Go away" but they didn't listen.

"Percy!" Annabeth very nearly screamed in my ear. I jolted away, struggling with the covers that were wrapped tightly around my legs. Jerking to the side, I fell off the bed and landed on my backside on the floor with a huff.

"What's wrong?" I asked, finally untangling myself. I looked up to see tears streaming down her face, sparkling in the moonlight.

"I-I don't know, Percy," she admitted.

"Did you have a dream?" I hated those. I never had a normal one before. She nodded. "Well, tell me about it." I got up and sat on the couch, and she came over and sat in front of me.

"It was my mom," she mumbled. "She was in Tartarus, I think. I couldn't tell, it was too dark. But she was somewhere really bad, Percy." She reached out and took my hands, holding them tight.

"Alright." I waited for her to say something else, but she didn't. "What are you thinking?" I was used to asking that question.

"I'm thinking that I want to leave right now and go and see if she's there," was her predicted reply. I felt like we needed to go, too, just to make sure. Heroes didn't get dreams for nothing.

"Then we'll wake my mom, tell her, and we'll go," I told her, going to get up. Her hands pulled me back down. "What?"

"I'm not sure if it was real, though." She stifled a sniffle. "It could be a hoax."

"Well, whatever it was, we can't just leave your mom there. She may be the goddess of wisdom, but there are some things that you simply cannot do alone, and she's not exempt from that, Annabeth."

"Still, we should give her some time. If I have this dream tomorrow night, too, we'll go." She sighed heavily, another tear rolling down her porcelain cheek. "I'm really sorry about all this, Percy."

"What are you sorry about?" I asked, confused that she would even think that.

"For taking your room…"

"I could care less, Annabeth," I assured her, leaning in close and pressing my forehead against hers. She sniffled again.

"You should."

"I don't."

"I know. That's the problem."

"I see no problem." I grinned at her, and she grinned back.

"You're full of kelp," she teased, leaning forward. I kissed the tip of her nose.

"Am not. Although I am mostly water," I pointed out. "We all are. I just have more." She shoved my head back with her palm, smiling widely.

"All right, fine."

"Aren't you glad that I'm your friend?" I asked as she got up to leave. She paused, worrying her lip with her teeth.

"Well, _duh_, Percy." She stood there.

"Afraid of more bad dreams?" I guessed, raising my eyebrows. She nodded. "Well, then, get over here." She looked at me like I was insane, but she came over and sat back down.

"Lay down," I said, pushing her shoulder gently. She ignored that.

"What about you?" she asked, confusion plain in her voice.

"Never you mind." I positioned myself so I was sitting, my head leaning against the back of the couch-bed. "Lay down," I repeated. She lied down next to me, her head on my pillow. She looked up with grateful gray eyes, and I put my hand over them, hoping that she would take the hint to go back to sleep. Eventually she did.

My mom was quite surprised when she found us in the morning. I was awake, but there was no way that I was going to move and wake Annabeth up. She didn't seem to be having a dream, at least not a bad one.

"What…?" She had no clue what to say.

"It's nothing," I promised quickly. "She had a nightmare, that was all, about her mom being in trouble. She was terrified that she'd have another one. You can't really wake up from those easily. So, I told her to sleep here, and I would wake her if she had the dream again. I'm annoying enough to do that."

She didn't seem to like it, but there was nothing she could do about it. "If that's all that happened…"

"Yup, it is." I assured her with a quick, single nod. No need to explain that I had gotten really close to kissing her, but still got her nose. No, that would be a bad idea.

"So, what is she going to do?"

"Well, she said she'd wait and see if she had another dream, and if she did, we'd go and find her mom."

"You'd be going, too?" I nodded.

"Yeah, for the past few years, we've done quests together," I reminded her. Surely she remembered how I had told her absolutely everything. Well, almost everything. I didn't mention what happened in the mountain over the summer. That was a trivial fact.

"Oh, well, then, I suppose I can't stop you. Would you stop by camp first?"

That was a good question. I told her to remind me to ask Annabeth later. She left, and I just watched Annabeth sleep.

A/N: I'd reply to your reviews individually, but it's easier to do it all at once. So here we go…

**ixamxsquee**: I loved your reaction, even though it was short. I'm glad you love it!  
**Floppy125**: Thanks for thinking that, it's really sweet  and I hope that others find this story and tell me what they think of it. (hint hint) I've had a _lot _of hits so far. Thanks for reviewing!!  
**Katie Henderson**: I'll keep updating, I promise. I looove writing this. More so than my own story on FictionPress, lol! No need to worry! And I'm glad you like my writing, too!  
**afrodude**: I'm glad you think it's so awesome! Ha ha!  
**CHARLE$(a.k.a. christina)**: I'm sorry about the spelling errors, I really am, but when I try to find them, my eyes skip over it, because they register what I meant it to be, not what I actually put. And please don't die! I promise to keep writing!  
**..Lulz**.: Uh…okay…?  
**mesz**: I'll keep writing, as long as people don't say, "You are a horrible writer, you should never try ever again, and I hope that you break your hand so you can't write." Which, hopefully, I doubt, because I want to become an author as soon as I finish one of my many incomplete stories. 

And that is all!! Sorry if I missed someone, but it was an accident, I swear! Please review!!! If you favorite/story alert it I won't feel motivated enough to make contact with you (another hint!).


	6. I Get A Dog

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians _series. Too bad…

A/N: I'm disappointed!! 1,503 hits to date from the USA, UK, Canada, India, Brazil, Ireland, Germany, China, France, Poland, Philippines, Singapore, Argentina, Netherlands, UAE, Spain, Puerto Rice, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Bahamas, Hong Kong, and Trinidad, and I've only received 37 reviews! You let me down…If you want faster updates, review! This chapter is dedicated to: **Katie Henderson**, **Broken Gold**, **R-U-Insane**, **riptide17**, **Floppy 125**, **Is your heart in the game**, **pJato431**, and **greekmythologyrox1018**, who _reviewed_. And because I figured that an update would be more appreciated than replying and waiting until Monday for the update. Thank you, guys! It means a lot to me. Special thanks to those who regularly review! You're the awesomest!

When Annabeth—finally—woke up, she seemed embarrassed. Her face turned bright pink when she saw me looking at her, and she jumped off the couch and smoothed the front of her shirt.

"I'm really, really sorry," she hurriedly said. "I didn't mean…I guess…"

"It's fine." I turned my attention back to the television and un-muted it. The news was the only thing on, and I stared at it without registering anything that they newscasters said, except something about the weather near LA. I wondered what was going on way over there.

The day passed in a blur. We went with my mom to the park to get some fresh air, so we were out of her hair while we roamed around, huddling in our warm winter coats as the frosty air bit at our noses and ears. Annabeth told me about the great monument she thought would look perfect there, twelve feet tall, bronze, and noble-looking, like the bald eagle. I told her that she should get right on it, and she punched me. It hurt, but I would never tell her that, because she was a girl, and it wasn't supposed to hurt.

Her cell phone rang, and she pulled it out and nearly dropped it like it was going to bite her. She just stared at it blankly.

"What?" I asked. "Arachne calling?"

"Worse, my parents." How could her parents be worse than Arachne? Girls, I swear.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" I wondered after it rang a fourth time. She shook her head, and pressed the 'ignore' button on it.

"It's dangerous for us, remember, Seaweed Brain? And if they really want to talk to me, they'll call your mom's cell or come in person. I'm sure the monsters tapped my phone before," she joked half-heartedly.

"They prolly got my mom's, too. I mean, she's my mom. She's with me a lot, except at camp. Speaking of which, I wonder how Chiron's doing these days." My change in subject was pretty obvious.

"Probably the usual. Hiding prophesies, training, playing pinochle with Mr. D." Annabeth shrugged. "Nothing too exciting, I hope."

"Yeah, you can't let one person have _all _the fun." I rolled my eyes and snickered. "Although, I think it would be boring if all I got to do was sit back and relax. I don't think I could live like that long."

Annabeth's reply was cut off by a low growling from nearby bushes, covered in a light dusting of snow. I reached into my pocket and pulled out Riptide, but didn't uncap it just yet. It could be a starving dog for all we knew.

Which was exactly what it was. It looked sad and hopeless, with its head hanging down low, ears drooping. Its black coat was all mangled and full of snow and twigs. It whined miserably, and I crouched down.

"Hey, there," I said softly, holding out my hand. Its head slowly rose, and I lurched backwards when I saw that its eyes were a flaming red. A hellhound.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, backing off quickly. Annabeth didn't react. I wondered if she was frozen in place (unlikely) or if she was just thinking.

"Percy, this is so lucky!" she said suddenly.

"What's lucky?"

"See how small it is yet? It's not nearly full grown, probably just a few days old, poor thing. So it won't attack you."

"That's good." I paused. "But how does that make me lucky?"

"I think that you were the first 'mythological' thing that it has ever seen, so, if you ask it, it may become like Mrs. O'Leary." I remembered that great, huge hellhound. Nice dog, I will say. Saved our butts before, too, which was really nice of her.

"So, how do I ask it?" I wondered, tilting my head to the side.

"Hades if I know." She pushed me forward. "Just try something. I got your back."

"If you say so," I mumbled under my breath. I crouched in front of the dog again. Now that I looked, I could tell that it was definitely young, because the fire in its eyes dimmed and became more of a black, a smolder-like effect.

"Hello, there, pup," I greeted it, feeling like a complete idiot the whole while. "How can I tell what gender it is?" I hissed behind me to Annabeth. I was not going to check the traditional way. No, thank you.

"Try naming it," she hissed back, uncertain. Great, now I had to be clever.

"Uh…" I went through a bunch of different things, then decided that I could name the hellhound after a constellation. Finally, I had an idea.

"Cetus," I said firmly. The hellhound perked its ears and tilted its head to the side. "Come." Four large paws thudded forward slowly, and the dog came to me.

"Wow," Annabeth breathed behind me. "You're pretty good. And I like the name choice, too. _Cetus_. The Sea Monster, who was sent to eat Andromeda or whatever, saved by the valiant Perseus. Nice." I could hear the sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"I thought that, since I'm the son of the sea god, that naming him Cetus would be appropriate. Sea, as in, like, me, and monster, because he's a hellhound." I thought my reasoning was pretty good. I didn't care what Annabeth told me. "And besides, Cetus likes his name." I slowly, tentatively, reached out a hand and rubbed the pup's great head. My only problem was going to be convincing my mom to let me keep him.

"Let's go," I suggested. "Follow, Cetus." Apparently, Cetus was very smart, because he followed right along side of me. Annabeth stayed on my other side; she didn't seem too thrilled with Cetus.

When we caught up to my mom and she saw Cetus, she let out a strangled squeak and nearly passed out.

"What…why…?" She couldn't form a question.

"Can we keep him?" I pleaded. "Look, he's so sad without me. Please, mom?"

She looked like she was ready to club me. "_Keep _him, Perseus? I don't think so. I do not need a hellhound in the apartment. They won't even let us keep hamsters, alright? So I really doubt that they'll let us keep a dog that'll grow ten times his size now."

"Ms. Jackson, we can't really just get rid of Cetus," Annabeth mumbled. "And he can help protect Percy from monsters." Gee, thanks, Annabeth. "And he doesn't have to stay in the apartment, either. He can live on the streets, but he'll stay close."

"How do you know so much about hellhounds, Annabeth? Thinking of buying one from the pet store?" I teased.

"It's usually a vicious monster. I had to know about them so I could kill them, if need be." Cetus growled lightly. I got the feeling that he didn't like what Annabeth had said, and I tried not to laugh.

"Cetus isn't vicious," I put in. My mom just looked at me, so I ducked my head and petted Cetus's great head. His tongue lolled out and his eyes lightened to their more red flaming color.

"Fine," my mother finally surrendered. "I daresay, you could use a little protection, Percy. Just make sure that it doesn't start killing people to eat, okay? Then we'll have to get rid of him." Cetus whined, then barked. He seemed to understand. I gave his head one last pat, then I told him the rules. He didn't seem to like them, but he listened to me.

We came back to the apartment, and there was a message on the answering machine. My mom shooed us into my room, and so we sat there for about five minutes, not looking at each other.

"I agree with Rachel," Annabeth said suddenly, definitely out-of-the-blue. I had to look at her.

"About what?" What could Annabeth have agreed with Rachel on?

"Boys." Ah. I spoke that last thought. "They are always so blind to what's plainly in front of them." She flourished her hand in the empty air in front of her.

"So, are you saying that I'm blind?" I guessed, trying to sum up what she had meant to say.

"Basically, Percy." She sighed.

"How am I blind?" I asked, turning my body so I was facing her, my leg folded under me on the bed. She turned towards me, and positioned herself.

"You just are."

"Is that you're final answer?"

A pause. "No."

"Then tell me what is." I leaned closer to her, resting my chin in my palm.

"Well…"

My mom opened the door, and told us that we could come back out now, and that she was sorry for locking us up like that.

"Annabeth, when's your birthday?" My mom was just as random as Annabeth was.

"March fourteenth, according to my mom," she replied. My mom just nodded.

"Well, dinner will be ready in an hour or so. Don't get too wrapped up into something."

A/N: Ooh, what was she going to say?? I know, I know!! Pick me! Anyways, if you can figure out whose birthday is on March 14th, then I'll dedicate the next chapter to you, _and _you can request something that you want to happen in this story. But you have to be the first to guess it right. I'll try my hardest to incorporate it, but if it's really obscure or impossible for what I have already planned, you can choose something else. If no one guesses right, then…uh…I'll think of something not fun. Hmm…I already have a couple ideas swirling around in my head. Mwahaha! (Helpful Hint: Famous person. And think about why and how Annabeth was born, too. Okay?)


	7. The Oracle Comes to Meet Me

Disclaimer: I do not own the PJATO series.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to **alli303**, for guessing correctly. The answer was Albert Einstein. There is another little 'contest' too. I was amazed that nobody noticed the pun in chapter 2. So, whoever can find that will have the next chapter dedicated to them, and whoever that is can also tell me what they want to see in the story later on. This one should be really easy for you guys, so go for it! (I need help in deciding a few things, filling the gaps, like, so that's why I'm doing this. If you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!!)

That night I was woken again by a distraught Annabeth.

Her hair was all tangled, like she had been tossing and turning all night. Her eyes were wide as she pulled her hand back from my shoulder after I had finally woke up.

"What's up?" I mumbled, too asleep still to realize the reason why she had woken me up. She waited for me to sit up, then she sat down next to me. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were streaked with tears. Finally, I was fully awake.

"Your mom?" I gasped, grabbing her hand without thinking. She nodded miserably. "Okay, I'm going to tell my mom." I ran to her room and knocked on the door. I heard her mumble something, and I opened the door a crack and poked my head in.

"What, Percy?" she asked, cranky. I opened the door more and slipped in.

"Annabeth had another dream," I told her. She flung the covers off and got up.

"Where is she?" she demanded.

"The couch," I told her. She flew past me and went into the room, gathering Annabeth up in a hug.

"Oh, sweetie," she soothed. Annabeth shook in her arms. "You and Percy go, alright? I'll take care of the school and your parents. Just get ready and go. There's no point in waiting for morning, anyways." My mom shot me a look, and I dashed into my room and retrieved my backpack from the closet. I went to my drawers and started stuffing clothes, socks, and packaged food that I kept in my bottom drawer for emergencies like this. Mostly granola bars and stuff like that, but it was food nonetheless. I went into the kitchen and threw in a few water bottles from the refrigerator, and went back to the living room. My mom was rubbing Annabeth's back.

"Alright, honey, you need to get your things together. I don't think you want my son to do that for you," she teased. Annabeth shook her head and got up, throwing an extremely grateful glance towards my mom. She smiled back.

Five minutes later Annabeth had a green backpack over her shoulder, winter coat on, boots laced, and her hat in her hand. My own boots were shoved on my feet, and my coat was zipped. In my frenzy, I had almost ripped the zipper right off. If Annabeth knew that, she would have laughed at me.

As it was, her face was still upset, and my mom knew it.

"I'll take you two to Camp Half-Blood," she offered. "That way I won't have to worry about you both getting there safely." She buttoned up her coat and grabbed her keys. She locked the apartment door behind her. I knew that it would be a while before I walked through that door again.

It was extremely dark outside when we left the building, and I could feel the moisture hovering in the air. I assumed fog. The car door opened, and I quickly clambered into the backseat next to Annabeth. We shivered in the cold under our coats, and I slid closer to Annabeth.

"Body heat," I chattered to her as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders. My mom blasted the heat, and she backed out of the parking spot.

We were halfway to Camp Half-Blood when I remembered Cetus.

"Cetus!" I gasped. "Oh no!"

"He's following the car," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. Good old Annabeth. "He caught your scent, and is about ten feet behind us. Of course, in this darkness, you can't see him."

"So how do you know that he's following?"

"Because I caught a glimpse of him hovering in the shadows when we got in the car. And, if you listen, you can hear his paws on the cement." Why did I always have to be so...unobservant sometimes? Oh yeah, Annabeth was right next to me. All of my focus was on her at the moment. The smell of her hair that reached about halfway down her back, the way her gray eyes sparkled when she looked up at me, the way her lips curved when she smiled wryly, how pretty her tan skin was.

There's my answer.

I didn't worry about anything else for the rest of the trip. I only concentrated on Annabeth, her warm body next to mine, her fingers entwined in mine.

"I'm really worried," she whispered to me as we approached Half-Blood Hill.

"You should be," I informed her. "It's your mother, the goddess of wisdom. You've got to worry about how she got into that mess. Whoever it was had to be really smart to capture your mom. So you know it couldn't have been me."

"No, you're pretty smart, Percy." She shook her head. "You just don't...choose the things that are right in front of your face. There are things that I would never believe that you wouldn't see."

"Like what?" I wondered as my mom parked the car. The sun was just starting to lighten the sky, and I could see the clouds that were rolling around the camp's borders.

"Let's go," she said instead of answering, opening the door and grabbing up her backpack. I slid out and shouldered mine, then said goodbye to my mom.

"I'll see you soon," I promised. "Hopefully." She smiled.

"I love you, Percy," she said, kissing my forehead. I hugged her, which surprised her. She held on tight, nearly crushing my lungs, but I didn't say anything. Eventually she let go, and enveloped Annabeth in one of her suffocating hugs.

"You'll always have a home with us," she said lowly, so I wouldn't hear. Oops. I did anyways.

"Thanks, Ms. Jackson. You're been so nice." Girls and their hormones. Honestly, it was like they were both going to start crying for no apparent reason, and then start laughing because they know that it's pointless. Thankfully, that didn't happen. My mom only kissed Annabeth on her forehead, and got back into the car.

We climbed up the hill and over, looking down at the camp. A single light was on in the Big House, so we quickly made our way down there. We had no time to loose.

A few naiads looked up out of the river as we knocked on the door, but, thankfully, they kept silent. The door handle rattled, and eventually the door opened, revealing Mr. D in his usual colorful attire.

"Mr. D," Annabeth greeted. "We're extremely sorry if we woke you, but we need help."

"Oh? And what can I do for you, Ms. Chase and Mr. Jackson?" I was surprised that he got my name right. At least my last name.

"Well, her mom, Athena, is in trouble," I supplied.

"I am well aware of who her mother is, thank you. But I find it hard to believe that the goddess of wisdom is in trouble," he replied moodily.

"I've had dreams," Annabeth put in, "And they're always her trapped somewhere. Which can't be good, seeing as I rarely have dreams about anybody."

"So, let me guess," he mused, rubbing his chin. "You want a quest, a chat with the Oracle, and someone else to go along with you?" Annabeth nodded. "Sorry, no can do."

"But, Mr. D., we need help!" she protested. "I just can't ignore my dreams, sir! Please, tell us that you'll help?"

"What's all this," a familiar voice came from behind the camp director.

"Chiron!" I exclaim without thinking. Mr. D shot me an annoyed look, but otherwise ignored me.

"Percy, Annabeth!" He trotted up next to us, his great hooves clopping noisily against the floor. "I can assume that this isn't merely a pleasurable visit?" I shook my head.

Annabeth explained everything to him, and Chiron looked at Mr. D reproachfully. "We must help them. They will find a way to go whether we let them or not." He pointedly looked at me, and I ducked my head. "So, we might as well let them have their way. Go, visit the Oracle, my dear, and Percy and I will get other supplies ready. When the campers awake, you may choose another companion to go along with you two." I nodded, and Annabeth made her way to the Oracle while I followed Chiron to the Hephaestus tool shed.

"I'm sure they won't mind if I let you borrow a few things," Chiron mumbled, looking around for something useful. "Ah." He handed me a few scary-looking cylinders.

"Um...what are they?" I asked, turning them around in my hands.

"Explosives. You may need a couple," he replied offhandedly. He handed me a couple more items, briefly explaining each one. "Detonators, for distractions. You don't have an invisibility cap to get away like Annabeth." A couple black orbs was what I got. He handed me a long tube. "Throw one of these, and a multitude of arrows will fly out and hit your targets. I know that you cannot handle a bow very well. That is something to work on when you get back. But be careful that you do not throw it backwards, otherwise you will be the ones speared with them." Chiron, always expecting more from me. I really appreciated him for pressing me so hard. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't be half as good as I was now. And I'd probably be dead, too.

We left the tool shed and went back to the Big House, where Annabeth was sitting dejectedly on the steps. She looked up at our approach but said nothing.

"What did the Oracle say?" Chiron asked, holding out a hand and helping her to her feet.

"Nothing." So that's what the problem was. "It didn't say anything." Chiron pondered that for a moment.

"You try, Percy. Maybe it will speak to you," he ordered. I shrugged and headed towards the old bag of bones. I met the sack of bones halfway up the stairs. She opened her mouth and spoke to me.

"_What you want most is the hardest to get. To pass through the land of the wild one, repay your debt. Not everyone will leave the valley of the dead, and beware of those whose toes you tread."_

Her mouth closed, and I left feeling more confused then when Rachel said that I was blind.

Annabeth and Chiron were looking at me when I met back up with them.

"First, the old hag will need to be moved back upstairs," I said before either one could ask me. "Second, this is what she told me: 'What you want most is the hardest to get. To pass through the land of the wile one, repay your debt. Not everyone will leave the valley of the dead, and beware of those whose toes you tread.'"

"Alright. Before we get another member, we need to let Cetus through the barrier. I can't believe I forgot about him!" Annabeth exclaimed throwing her hands up in the air. We all made our way back towards Half-Blood Hill, where I could hear Cetus's whines.


	8. We Show Clarisse

Disclaimer: I do not own PJATO series. Rick Riordan does. Maybe he'll sell it to me...

A/N: AN UPDATE!!! Thanks for all you faithful reviewers! I apologize if I did not reply to your reviews, but I have been immensely busy lately with homework. School starts again on Monday. Also, this was written in one sitting (at eight in the morning and after a horrible night's sleep) so I could get it posted for you. Therefore, I ask that you kindly ignore the grammar and spelling mistakes that are sure to come up. Thank you!! Reviews would boost my confidence and encourage me to post sooner in the week.

Letting Cetus in the way that we did was a mistake. Of course, it didn't bother me, but I'm sure that Annabeth wasn't too thrilled with telling me to keep Cetus afterwards.

We climbed up the hill to find him pacing near the tree, which he would sniff carefully before bounding away and then coming right back and doing it all again.

"Cetus!" I called, stepping out of the boundary so I could rub his furry head. He nuzzled against me and knocked me down. Annabeth stifled a giggle.

"I, Chiron, give you, Cetus, permission to enter Camp Half-Blood," Chiron announced with authority. Cetus's ears perked up and he stopped trying to lick my face. I pushed him from behind with my foot, and he bounded forward, directly to Annabeth, who he apparently recognized. He let out a happy yelp as he jumped on her, knocking her to the ground, too. Unfortunately, by the time that I pulled him off of her, her face was covered in Cetus's kisses.

"No, Cetus," I said firmly, remembering how Annabeth had handled Cerberus. "Sit." I pushed Cetus's behind down, making him sit. The fire in his eyes died just a little in obedience.

"You couldn't have stopped him _before _he drenched me in his spit?" Annabeth grumbled.

"Sorry," I apologized. She just rolled her eyes.

"Let's go an find another person who is stupid enough to come with us," she decided. I looked over at Chiron, but he was watching Annabeth walk back down the hill, still wiping spit off her face. I decided that I should probably follow her before she yelled at me.

Only a few people were up by the time we made it to the cabins, including Clarisse. She eyed me wearily, as if she was tired of trying to beat me up. Chiron was talking to one of the Hermes members, and gave us no attention.

"Look, everyone, kelp boy's back," she taunted as Annabeth and I paused outside the Poseidon cabin. A few of her friends snickered.

"Nice to see you, too," I replied in a monotone. "I've been looking forward to you trying to beat me up." My eyes rolled involuntarily, and she took a step closer to me.

"Watch it, punk," she warned. "I could beat you to a pulp in three seconds."

"Oh, really? What if I treated you to a power wash? Maybe it would wipe that smirk off your face for good," I shot right back, "and do the world a favor." Clarisse started for me, and I went to meet her, but Annabeth grabbed my arm and pulled me back. As much as I wanted to soak Clarisse, there was no way that I'd get Annabeth mad at me more than she already was.

"That's right, kelp boy, have to have your girlfriend keep you out of trouble," she sneered. "Everyone knows that's what you want. As if!"

I looked over at Annabeth, and she was glaring at Clarisse, who had a smug look on her face. I'm sure that she wouldn't mind if I treated Clarisse to a quick rinse.

Just as I was about to let all that rushing water loose, Chiron stopped me.

"Percy, we do not drown our fellow family members," he scolded.

"But..." I started.

"No buts. You should know better than that, Percy. You're fifteen." I hated it when he made me realize how immature I was. Annabeth pulled on my arm.

"I have an idea," she whispered in my ear.

"If you say so."

"Anyways," Chiron interrupted. "Someone was volunteered to go with you."

"Who?" Annabeth and I asked simultaneously.

"Nico," he replied, obviously pleased with the surprise. "He came yesterday, wanting to visit you two. I told him that you weren't here, but he didn't want to leave just yet. He said that if you accepted his help, he'd wait for you in the mess hall."

"Of course!" Annabeth exclaimed. "It'll be great!"

"Let's go," I suggested. Chiron trotted off, but Annabeth grabbed onto my arm again. "What?"

She was looking over at Clarisse, who was watching us with her eyebrows raised.

"You ready for my idea?" she mumbled under her breath.

"Um...sure?" She turned back to Clarisse, smiled, then turned back to me, her expression something between eagerness and smugness as she went up on her tiptoes and kissed me lightly. I heard Clarisse's shark intake of breath of surprise and grinned. Annabeth couldn't have thought of a better idea, and that included my earlier proposal. I could feel her smiling, too, but I wanted to rub it in a little bit. So, I wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her back, letting my other hand slide up her back and cup the back of her neck.

This time the intake of breath was hers, and she wrapped her arms around my neck. I could smell her lemony shampoo that she used, her soft hair tangling in my fingers. I bent over so I was holding her in a dip, and she let out a laugh, which I silenced straight away.

Not wanting to push my luck too far, I pulled her back up and let her go, and shifted my gaze away from her blushing face to Clarisse, who looked dumbfounded.

"I didn't think it was possible, Jackson, for you to get a girl," Clarisse snapped after a moment. She looked furious.

Someone cleared his throat, and we turned to find Mr. D. standing there, his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised. "I do not accept that sort of behavior in my camp, Paul. Especially since Athena would most likely punish me further, having great influence than the other gods and goddesses."

"Yes, sir," Annabeth mumbled besides me. "Uh...we were just...ah...going." She grabbed my wrist and pulled me away towards the mess hall.

We found Nico there, sitting at one of the tables, a backpack sitting next to him.

"Nico!" we exclaimed. Annabeth rushed forward and gathered him up in a hug.

"We'd love it if you came with us!" she stated, letting him go. He looked at me, surprised that Annabeth had hugged him.

"I'm glad. And I'm all ready to go, too. But can we wait until after breakfast? I love the camp food." I nodded.

"Hey, Nico, I got a dog," I told him, just remembering that Cetus was somewhere, probably terrorizing some poor camper with his unyielding kisses.

"Really? Cool. What kind of dog?"

"A hellhound puppy," I said slowly. "His name is Cetus, and he likes to display his affection by... well, licking everybody."

"A puppy?" I nodded. "Well, that must be him, then. I lost one on the way here. Just a tiny little thing, easily overlooked. He had just been created when I saw him last, and his eyes weren't even open then." Annabeth looked at him as to say, "get on with it."

"Anyways," he continued, "I brought a few little ones with me to help protect the fault and the forest. My father's idea, actually. But I'm sure he won't mind if you have one. There are plenty of them."

The conch shell sounded for breakfast, and I took my seat at the Poseidon table, by myself, as everyone else filed in. I heard a few cheerful cries of "Annabeth!" and "Percy!" and I waved to them. A few Ares kids threatened me, but I ignored them. Nico came over and sat across from me, and once Annabeth got her plate, she came over, too, and sat next to me, reminding me of the time when she came over before.

Breakfast was filled with lots of chatter, and eventually I turned to me and Annabeth. The Aphrodite children loved it, and I turned red. I heard Nico snickering into his breakfast.

"I saw a bit of that," he admitted. He started laughing when he saw our expressions. Annabeth and I just looked at each other.


	9. Subway Suprise

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians_, even though I want to. That would be cool.

A/N: Thanks to all those who reviewed! If you actually log in to review, you know, I will actually reply _individually_. As it is, I thank you over and over if you reviewed, and even more if I didn't reply. I can't remember which ones I did and which ones I didn't. There most likely will not be another one for a while, and it's taken me a long time to get this one up and running for you. Maybe by next weekend? I'm thinking once a week would be good, until school is over. And...You're welcome! REVIEW!!!

We kept Nico quiet throughout the rest of breakfast by telling him that if he said another word, we wouldn't take him with us. The moment that threat left Annabeth's lips, he was as silent as the grave. And believe me, he was good at it. It was eerie.

Annabeth, Nico, and I escaped from the mess hall before everyone was finished, so we wouldn't have to meet the curious gazes that were directed our way. Most of them came from the Aphrodite table. I was sure that they were loving this. I ducked my head and hurried out.

"And where are we going?" Nico asked. I shrugged.

"I'm assuming the west. Again. 'What you want most is the hardest to get. To pass through the land of the wild one, repay your debt. Not everyone will leave the valley of the dead, and beware of those whose toes you tread' is what the Oracle told me."

"That sounds right," Annabeth mused. "The valley of the dead must be in the west, and is probably the Underworld. We can head in that general direction to begin with."

"I agree. And I promise that my father won't try to kill you," Nico stated. "You've helped me quite a bit, if I look really hard"—Annabeth laughed—"so I asked him to cut you a break. I mean, you've already ticked off Ares and Athena, so I figured that you could have one less god on your mind who may or may not wish to blow you to cinders."

"Thanks, Nico," I said sarcastically. "That really boosts my self-esteem." Nico grinned.

"Time to get going." Annabeth worried her father's college ring that was on her camp necklace. I remembered that mine was in the bottom compartment in my backpack. I would have to find it again, and get something to weigh the front down. When I had worn it, it had always twisted around, so it looked like there was just a piece of rope strangling me.

"In a hurry?" Nico mumbled under his breath as she stalked ahead, going towards the cabins to grab her things. I made a face and followed after her, but she was too far ahead already for it to be worth anything when I caught up. Instead, I tried to hurry so she wouldn't be too jumpy about being late or some other nonsense. Concentrating on not falling up the step to my cabin, I went through the door and gathered up my backpack again, but not before I had retrieved my camp necklace from the proper compartment.

Tying it behind my neck, I tucked it under my coat as I left and jogged over to where Annabeth was standing, Nico saying something to her, Cetus panting at his feet.

"...I think it could work," he finished. Great, my slowness made me miss the whole conversation. I rolled my eyes.

"Are we going now?" I wondered, raising my eyebrows.

"Obviously. Come on," Annabeth replied, heading off towards the hill, where Argus was waiting to drive us into the city. Annabeth and I climbed into the back, but with our backpacks and a hellhound in the back, too, there was no extra room for Nico. He climbed into the front and deposited his backpack on the floor, kicked back and relaxed as we drove into the crowded city, towards the subway station. Flying would be faster, but we—I mean I—never had that option. I doubt that Zeus would be kind enough to let me slide, even once.

I took in the grand sights as Annabeth went on about architectural structures, and I paid attention to the first three seconds, until she started using words that wouldn't register very well in my brain. I was surprised that Nico asked a few questions, and Annabeth responded happily.

I almost fell asleep in the car, but Argus stopped on the side of the road where the staircase for the subway disappeared into the ground. Annabeth shook my shoulder to make me get out so she wouldn't be flattened to a pancake by the cars whizzing past faster than the speed limit allowed.

"Come on, Percy, move it," she encouraged. It was amazing that she look cute while growling at me and climbing over the seat. But then again, she looked cute in battle armor as well, which not many people were capable of doing, even the Aphrodite kids.

We shouldered our backpacks—_again—_and quickly descended down the stairs, acting as if we knew exactly where we were going. Cetus trotted alongside us, probably looking like a black lab. And I had no idea where we were; the maps of the underground trains had always confused me. But Annabeth did understand, as always, so I let her lead the way. Staring around the place, I didn't notice anything unusual, which made me jumpy. Normally, creatures and monsters were just itching to pick a fight with me. Cetus growled randomly, and I petted his head affectionately.

"You feel that?" Nico asked, accidentally stepping on my foot. If he wouldn't have been carrying a twenty-pound backpack on top of his weight, I wouldn't have noticed too much.

"Um, you stepping on my foot?" I replied, pointedly looking down at my foot. He apologized and moved his foot. "No, it feels calm...like the calm before a storm," I said, answering his question.

"Yeah, I--" Whatever he had been going to say was cut off by a screeching Harpy. Told you that the monsters just loved me.

That thing was hideous, and I felt bad knowing that it was a female. Monsters shouldn't have to look so ugly—it only gave little children nightmares—and I knew that it probably thought that Medusa looked better, which she did. It was really pitiful.

Apart from the looks, its curved talons snatched at the air right above my head as I crouched, pulling out Riptide, but keeping it concealed so no one would think it was a gun and scream and call the police. As she swooped low again, I slashed at her legs, and one came off, oozing some dark liquid, more brown-black than pure black. Nico shuddered as he got a few drops sprayed on him.

The stupid Harpy screeched again, and it very nearly made my ears bleed.

"Duck!" I recognized Annabeth's voice, and I ducked just in time. A bronze knife flew through the air and landed in the Harpy's chest, and, as always, she burst into ash.

"I hate those monsters the worst, I think. Give me a minotaur any day. She was terrible at singing. Briefly, I wondered what Simon Cowell would think of someone with her voice. Flying cups and some throat-ripping summed it up pretty well.

Annabeth retrieved her knife from Cetus's mouth, and wiped it off on my coat quickly, before I had time to protest. "Your dog," she mumbled. I shrugged. We'd be in warmer climates soon enough, and I'd be able to shed my outer layers and wash them.

We made it onto the subway without further incident, and I was grateful. Even though I hadn't really fought the Harpy, I was feeling weary. Being woken early in the morning, traveling to camp and walking all around, and then fighting off a monster of the dead wasn't something that I liked very much. I thought that I should at least get a good night's sleep first. Everything else I could deal with it.

Annabeth and I caught up with Nico on the train, and he talked about how his father had treated him, with kind respect but definitely not favoritism. That was something that was seriously bad, a god naming a favorite, even though Poseidon had told me that I was his favorite son on my fifteenth birthday before evaporating into sea spray. Probably because I was the only half-blood alive and not a Cyclops. Well, whatever brownie points you can earn...

The ride was long and dark, and we had to keep switching trains every half hour. Eventually, there were no more subways to take, so we made our way out into the real world, where there was sunlight, which I had really begun to miss. Ever since that Labyrinth quest, I had become very fond of the sun and all the wonders that it holds. Like, I could actually see where I was going, and there were others things besides monsters and other people that wanted to kill me or see me fail miserably.

To say the least, I was never going down there again if I could help it, and I'm sure that Annabeth agreed.

"Oh, Styx," Annabeth cursed, stopping in her tracks. Nico, who wasn't paying attention, plowed right into her. "The next train out of here isn't for three days, and we can't take a taxi, either. We don't have those infinite casino cards anymore."

I could see her point. It was definitely not good, and I had no idea where we were, as usual. But it seemed somewhat like it could be made into a western film. And where there were cowboys in the film, there were...

"Horses," I replied simply.

They weren't too pleased with my ingenious idea when they got saddle-sores after a few hours.


	10. Saddle Sores and Bad Dreams

A/N: So it seems that I will be updating once a week, because of all the stuff I have to do for school. I think that I'll aim for Sundays, so I have two days to work on it. And special thanks for my faithful reviewers! You have absolutely no idea how much that helps me want to finish this. And because this is the tenth chapter, I am aiming for a total of 100 reviews. That's only 14 more! Please make my day! Don't think that someone else will review for you. I've been getting less and less... This is longer than usual, to encourage you to review. Hope you enjoy it! ;-)

I admit that my idea may have been a bit flawed, but it was the only one we had. Of course, it was really easy to look up a stable in a phone book at the convenience store, and even easier to arrange for horses for two days. I had no idea how long that it would take until we could get to another town were we could get another train or subway, so we played it safe.

We got to the stable just around noon, and the stable-boy met us halfway down the long drive. "You the three who requested three horses for two days?"

"That's us," Annabeth put in, smiling widely. I could see her feminine charm working on the boy, and I was jealous. Immensely so. He was definitely older than I was, but I tried not to let it get to me.

The boy crossed his arms. "What kind of experience do you have?" He sounded reluctant to let a couple of horses out with a few teenagers. I didn't blame him. One would probably be eaten, another roasted alive, and the third would be too traumatized and go completely wild.

"Get me within three feet of a horse and I'll show you," I replied, mimicking his posture and narrowing my eyes. He regarded me for a second, then turned on his heel and walked away. We followed at a slight distance, and I whispered, "I'm going to tell the horses to be nice to you. Don't act afraid if one whinnies or something like that, just be confident, or this'll never work." That got me a glare from Nico and an elbow in my side from Annabeth.

"And make sure that you don't step in anything," she hissed. I knew that I had offended her, but it wasn't something I could take back easily, so I just let it go.

The horses that thundered past us in a pasture as we made our way up the hill were pretty big and strong. Not nearly as majestic as Blackjack, but then again, he _was _a 'mythological' creature. But these horses seemed sturdy, two mares and a stallion, galloping past as incredible speeds, then they stopped and turned around and looked at me.

"Our wild horses, for now," the boy said with pride in his voice. I wanted to hit him.

_Save us, _the sandy mare begged, _We fear him. _

_He does not let us our of this confinement, _the other mare whined. The stallion confirmed their arguments and whinnied.

I could do nothing but look on as the boy led us to the stables that were at the top of the hill. It didn't smell like roses, that was for sure. I wondered how often their stables were cleaned. I guessed around three times a week.

When I walked into the stable, all of the horses started nickering and whinnying at the sight of me, cramming my head with their thoughts. The main idea was _escape_. The attention I was getting from the horses was not lost on the boy.

"Feel free to check them out and choose the ones you like the best." Now all the horses were boasting on how excellent they were.

I spent ten minutes going from horse to horse, seeing how sturdy their legs were and how fit they were. After much complaining from Annabeth and Nico, I chose three horses who seemed acceptable for our long trip. Three young mares.

I saddled mine and Nico's horses while the boy helped Annabeth, totally oblivious to my icy glares at his back. I _so_ wanted to kick his behind and watch him get a mouthful of hay. But when he went to lead her horse out, she insisted that he let her be.

"I'm going to be fine, thank you," she said a bit sharply, locking her stormy gray eyes to his boring brown ones. He backed off, undeterred.

"The path starts out that way"--he pointed towards the woods-- "and there are several camps set up where you can spend the night. But be careful of the wolves, they'll..."

"I think we're all set," I said maybe just a little to harshly, cutting him off. He glared at me as I mounted my horse, who told me that her name was Gretchen. Nico and Annabeth got on awkwardly, but the boy didn't notice. I tapped my heels to Gretchen's side, and she started forward at a brisk trot. The other horses followed with no guidance from Annabeth or Nico, eager to follow me.

Once we were in the woods, The horses started chattering away.

_Where are we going, lord? _one asked.

"West," I replied. "But we won't be bringing you back. We'll have to leave after a day and a half or so. We're going to make it look like the wolves got to us, and you three will go back."

_We cannot come with you? _Nico's mare inquired, sadness dripping in her voice.

"No. That would be stealing," I replied sensibly.

We continued like that for a while, until the woods got extremely quiet.

"Do you hear that?" Annabeth asked, speaking for the first time in a while. Vixen, Annabeth's horse, snorted and started pawing the ground, tossing her head.

_Wolves, I think, _Gretchen whispered. _I can smell them_.

"Let's go!" Gretchen burst into a sudden gallop, and Vixen and Jasmine weren't far behind. They didn't like the idea as much as we did.

After thirty minutes of solid galloping, I was sure that the wolves were far behind us. Nico and Annabeth were groaning from saddle sores, and I didn't blame them. I could feel that the insides of my legs were raw, too, and burning. I didn't want to say anything.

We rode until we made it to the second camp, just as the sun set. I didn't tie up the horses, but I made them promise not to try anything. They agreed wholeheartedly, eager to please.

I had been hoping for a pleasant night, but apparently, someone else had other ideas.

_The room was completely black, save for a circle of dim, yellow light, in the middle of which kneeled a dark-haired woman. Her hands were held above her head, tied at the wrist to something that was invisible. _

_Her face was weary as she looked up to me and locked her familiar gray eyes to mine. _

"_I do not want your help, Percy Jackson," she said clearly. I couldn't speak, though I longed to ask why not. _

_She seemed to understand my thoughts. "Because you are a son of Poseidon." I wondered how that had anything to do with me. It wasn't as if—_

"_Because, that is how it is," she said, cutting off my train of thought. "You father and I have some...disagreements." And I was exactly like my father in the sense that...?_

"_You are his son." Her eyes were still boring into mine, but it wasn't hard for me to keep eye contact. But I wasn't my father. I was much less than he was. "But the fact still remains that you are his son." But my mother was not like that. I was just as much a art of her as I was of my father. _

_She said nothing in reply, only looked down. She didn't say anything for a while, and neither did I. _

"_Aphrodite came to have a little chat with me before this happened," she said at length. Why would she...?_

"_Why would she see _me_? Because of you, Perseus." Uh-oh... "Uh-oh is right. I told you that I did not approve of you being friends with my daughter." I felt my body tense unconsciously. "And as such, I do not approve of your feelings for her, and her feelings for you. You keep away from my daughter, even though you are leading this 'quest' and she is, naturally, coming along. I do not need rescuing." I wanted to tell her that if she didn't want rescuing, then she should get her butt out of where ever she was already. Her steely eyes glared at me._

I woke up, gasping, to find Annabeth's face above mine. I put a hand to my forehead and went to sit up, but she pushed me down. I could feel the horses' concern for me, which made me feel a little bit better, but only a little. The cabin that we were in was small, so I wasn't surprised that I had woken her up, and that Nico was still fast asleep, his mouth slightly open.

"Are you alright?" I considered that for a second. Hmm, I had a chat with my best friend-crush's mother, and she told me that I should basically never see her daughter again. She had also pointed out that she could save herself, where we were doing all this stuff to get to her.

"I'm fine," I lied. She didn't believe me, so I elaborated. "Your mom." That was all she was getting.

"She said that she didn't want us to be friends, right?" I started guiltily. "Yeah, she told me that, too. Two nights ago, actually. Bucketful of nonsense, I think. You're my best friend, even if our parents are enemies."

"If I remember correctly," I began, "You thought that we wouldn't get along. Shouldn't, actually. But we do. So, that shows that our parents should be able to get along. Doesn't it?" It was a rhetorical question; big mistake. Annabeth just sat there, her hand still on my shoulder, thinking about it. Slowly, she began to nod.

"Yes, they should get along. At least enough so we can be friends without my mother flipping out." She laughed a bit, and I smiled. "But I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't get along now." She winced.

"Why?"

"I have awful saddle sores, thanks to you." She hit my shoulder, and I frowned.

"Well, I'm sorry that you were a bit _faulty_ with coming up with a plan," I teased. She hit me again.

"Any idea would have better than this." She pulled her pant leg up and showed me the red marks on her calf. "That's about half as bad as my thigh."

"Oh, you'll get over it. At least we got rid of those awful winter coats and whatnot. It would have been hard to explain carrying them in a desert. And who came up with the idea of donating them?" It had been my idea, when we were starting to get tired of carrying them. Of course, I hadn't given Annabeth to think of it, but it didn't matter.

"Yours, because you were such a wimp."

"Ouch. That sounded like Clarisse."

"Oh, stop it." Her face turned pink, but I pretended that I didn't notice, even though it was hard, because she was so pretty when embarrassed and flustered.

"We should wake Nico," I said after a moment.

"Yeah." She got up, and I could still feel where her hand had been on my shoulder as she tried to shake Nico awake. "_Nico!_" she all but screeched. I covered my ears and winced.


	11. Nighttime Chat

A/N: I think I forgot to put, "I do not own PJATO" on the last chapter. So there it is. And I don't own it again for this chapter. Oops. Special thanks to XDpercabethXD who gave me an idea for part of the chapter. (Oh, and if something in my story contradicts TLO, don't tell me. I will be very put out with you if you do, because I haven't read it yet, only the excerpt at Barnes&.) Thanks!

Eventually we got Nico up, and he greeted us with some Ancient Greek curses. When I asked him where he had learned those words, he just gave me this look, like _I'm not telling you! _It was quite annoying, and I told him not to curse anymore. I didn't tell him that was a bit jealous that I didn't know that much Greek, even if it was curses. Annabeth and I had never gotten around to our lesson.

As we saddle our horses, I thought about Cetus. Even though I found that most people saw him as either a large poodle or a small St. Bernard, he was still too large to come along, especially with the horses. Even though I'd be able to explain that Cetus wasn't going to see them as kibble, they would still be antsy.

Vixen, Gretchen, and Jasmine were very peppy this morning, and I assumed it was because they were eager to get going again.

_Did you sleep well? _Vixen snickered. They must have heard me mumbling or something.

"Fine," I replied, looking into her brown eyes. She shifted uneasily and looked away.

_Are you _sure_? _Gretchen pushed. _You look tired, lord, and you have those purplish things...I think they're called _bags..._under your eyes. Not a good night's sleep, I'll take it. _Jasmine respected my space, which was really nice. I told them that.

_Oh, lord, we just are so thrilled that you're here! _Jasmine exclaimed. It was almost deafening.

"Okay, scratch that last," I mumbled under my breath. Annabeth came over and handed me something wrapped in foil. Gretchen tried to sniff it. _Apples? _she wondered.

"I...nabbed...some food from that stable boy. That's a bagel, I think. I figured you'd appreciate a bit of real food before we're living on granola bars and water." She shrugged, and I grinned and patted her arm.

"Thanks. Those granola bars are really dry." She smiled in reply and went off to mount Jasmine, her designated horse.

_Lord, why do you speak out loud to us? _Gretchen asked. She was one for questions. _You can hear our thoughts, but we cannot hear yours. _

"Good question." That puzzled me as well, but I assumed that it was just because I had a larynx and they did not.

_Maybe you should try it, _suggested Jasmine. _It couldn't hurt to try. _

As we traveled along, I kept trying to make them hear my thoughts. Until noon I was unsuccessful, and by that time we had to let them go back.

"We need to go by foot here," I announced, not too thrilled of the idea myself.

"Thank the gods," Annabeth moaned. "My thighs are awful."

"Sorry," I apologized. "That's part of horseback riding."

"Ugh, it hurts so bad," she complained. She perched her behind on a fallen tree trunk and tenderly massaged her legs. Nico grumbled some, too, and sat next to her.

"Can you walk?" I inquired. She shook her curly blonde head.

"It really, _really_, hurts." She touched the inside of her leg and winced.

"Let me see," I ordered, sitting on her other side. Her look told me, _you gotta be kidding_.

Whether she wanted to or not, she yanked up her pant leg to show her calf, then tenderly rolled it up as far as she could get it. Her thigh was red and puffy, the skin chafed off in a few places.

"Ouch," I mumbled as I got a good look. "That's awful."

"And what are you going to do about it?" I ignored the snippy tone in her voice and opened one of my packs with clothes in it. Taking a Camp Half-Blood orange t-shirt, I ripped it into long strips and dampened them with water. Using great care, I tied them around her thighs, and she rolled her pants down.

"Don't you dare," Nico said threateningly from behind Annabeth. I snorted. I had to admit that I hadn't been planning on wrapping his legs up for him. He could do that himself if he wanted—he was a big boy. And that would be way awkward.

"Don't worry," I told him, getting up off the log to get our packs off. "Annabeth, do you have a dagger I can borrow?" I needed to rip a few things with it to make it seem like wolves.

"In the saddlebag." I rummaged around and nearly cut myself on the stupid thing.

_Be careful! _Gretchen warned. Too late.

I pulled it out carefully and went around Jasmine to her bridle.

_Wait, lord, _she said, surprising me.

"What?"

_I have a better idea..._She told me her idea.

"That was really a terrible thing to do!" Annabeth hissed in my ear as we trudged along on the back of Gretchen.

"It was her idea, and you have to admit, it was pretty good," I countered, turning halfway around so I could see her face. A low branch whacked the back of my head. I turned back around. Nico snickered from Vixen's back.

Jasmine had told me that she knew that Gretchen and Vixen were tired of living in the stables, but I already knew that. She didn't mind them at all, because she liked the attention visitors gave her. She suggested that Gretchen and Vixen could come along with me, Annabeth, and Nico, while we sent her back.

_I've had my share of terrifying experiences, _she explained, _and I know that I can fake being spooked really well. You three can take Gretchen and Vixen; rip my bridle, saddle, or whatnot. Give me a few shallow cuts with that there knife to make it seem like I was the lucky one. Of course, you'd have to hide your tracks, because the stable boy would come after you. _

It was a well thought-out plan, and Annabeth agreed to it. Of course, I hadn't told her about hurting Jasmine at the time. She was berating me for that now.

"Yes, it was pretty good, but you didn't have to do that!" She unwrapped an arm from my waist and slapped the back of my head. Nico chuckled again. The only reason that she had agreed to ride with me was because Vixen was too small for two people and couldn't carry the weight, where Gretchen could. Her arms reluctantly moved back to encircle my waist.

We traveled into the night to get a better head start against the stable boy, and we reached the fifth campsite by eleven. Annabeth had fallen asleep with her head against my shoulder and arms still around me, and I was reluctant to wake her. Nico dismounted and kept her from falling off while I jumped off Gretchen. Nico moved back and I lifted Annabeth—still asleep, amazingly—off the saddle and carried her into the closest cabin, where I set her on a bunk. She stirred, but didn't wake, thankfully.

Because she had gotten her sleep, she was the one who was waking me up at eight in the morning. Her way of doing that was typical.

"Get your lazy bum up, Seaweed Brain!" she yelled at me. I groaned and mumbled, "Go away."

"I will not go away," she promised, yanking off my blanket and shoving me onto the hard floor.

"I'm up, I'm up!" I said, rubbing my back. "Ouch, that hurt." She showed no sign of being sorry and moved right along to wake Nico in a similar fashion. He wasn't too happy either.

We traveled that day and partially into the night again, but there were no cabins.

We were officially lost.

If we had been at sea, it wouldn't have been a problem. But I had never been good at the whole forest thing, even though I was improving. At least, I thought I had been improving last summer...

Anyways, there we were, in the middle of nowhere with no shelter.

"Nico, can you...uh...contact Cetus?" I wondered, letting Gretchen rest. I knew that she was terribly tired, but she wouldn't dare say that to me, although I wish she would. It made me feel horrible.

"Yeah, I can try. He may be too far away now, waiting for us." He shook his head. "Either way, he won't catch up until tomorrow."

We decided to let our horses go back.

"Pretend that you were simply spooked," I told them. "And you should be fine." They whinnied their longing to come along, but eventually the trotted off into the darkness.

Annabeth found a place that was good enough for us to sleep for the night, and we ditched our packs and lied down. There wasn't much room, so Annabeth and I were pretty close together, almost touching. I was too nervous—about what, I had no idea—to even think about falling asleep. Her breathing was pretty even, but I could tell she was still awake. Nico was sleeping. Dude, that was all he ever did, it seemed!

She rolled over onto her side and faced me. "I'm worried."

I wanted to roll my eyes. "About what?"

"My mom. She wouldn't be so easily capture, you know?" I did know.

"Just relax. We'll get her back, don't worry about it." Now on my side as well, I reached for her hands and held them between both of mine. "It'll be perfectly fine, okay?" She nodded, and I saw a glistening tear fall from her eyes, sparkling in the little moonlight that shone through.

Caught in the moment, I leaned close and kissed her tear away, the salty drop of water soon followed by another. I kissed that one away, too, and I managed to get a smile out of her.

"Thanks, Percy," she mumbled. She wiped another tear away before I could get to it, then she softly kissed me, her hand resting on my cheek.

"You mean the world to me," I informed her between the tender kisses. "Don't tell your mom."

She laughed. "I promise. And..." She hesitated. "I actually like you, Percy. Quite a bit, as a matter of fact." I went to say something more, but she silenced me.


	12. Hotel Extravaganza

Disclaimer: I do not own _Percy Jackson and the Olympians _series, because Rick Riordan does.

A/N: Thanks to all of you who reviewed! Special thanks to **miss o**,** rt**, and **percabeth fan1** who reviewed without signing in, so I couldn't actually reply to your reviews. Also, part of the prophecy will be fulfilled shortly, so pay attention! I will not say what chapter, but I'm getting to that part now so I can wind this whole thing up soon. Don't forget to review! (And I still haven't read TLO)  
Also, the only reason that I'm getting this up is because I'm stuck in my house with a sore throat. Don't know if it's streptococcus or whatever (strep throat, anybody?) so I'm quarantined.

The next day we were all tired and sore all over. Our little camp-out under the stars was not nearly as nice as it could have been. None of us were used to doing that sort of thing—it had been a while, what can I say—and we were cold and uncomfortable with bunches of pebbles underneath us, digging into our sides and heads.

As we trudged on, there was an endless stream on complaints.

"My thighs are so sore," Annabeth would mumble when her scabs cracked.

"How much longer?" was Nico's constant question.

"Shut up, Nico!" Any guess who that was?

We walked for a part of the day, until we came to an actual city with cabs and cheeseburgers. I was extremely hungry, and my stomach kindly reminded me every so often.

"Can we get some food?" I pleaded, heading towards the nearest fast-food restaurant.

"Sure," Annabeth replied. Then I remembered that I was technically the head of the quest, and that I should be able to do what I wanted. But then again, my ADHD was often prone to make me ignorant of some things that could potentially kill me. Best to ask just in case.

We got a few cinnamon things from McDonald's to eat, and then tried to hail a taxi. Of course, we had no idea where we were. So when the driver said, "Where to?" Annabeth kindly asked for a map, claiming that she knew how to get there, but not the name.

"Sure, kiddo," he said, pushing his sunglasses up his nose a bit, handing her a map that was clearly never used.

She spread the map out in front of us, and quickly found where we were; in the middle of Colorado.

"What in Hades..." I mumbled, astounded that we had traveled so far in such a short time. It seemed impossible. So there was probably some strange magic in the region.

"Wow," Nico deadpanned, which made me want to laugh.

"Ah, here it is," Annabeth said, her finger on a street two cities away, just near the base of a small mountain.

"How are we going to pay?" I hissed in her ear. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a large amount of cash just enough so I could see it.

"I didn't just get food from the stable boy. He has enough here for a car. Although I feel bad about it, my mother is more important than this," she whispered as she handed the map back to the taxi driver.

"That's pretty far, miss," the driver complained.

"How much would it cost?" she asked.

"More than you have." Annabeth pulled out four twenties.

"Enough?" The driver nodded, pushing up his sunglasses again, his hand out for the money.

We got to the city within two hours, and by that time I was sick of the rock music that was playing. Gratefully, we climbed out and made our way to a hotel, where we got a room for the rest of the day and the night.

"Why can't we keep going?" Nico inquired of Annabeth when we were settled in the room.

"Because there isn't enough time to start now," she replied simply. "We'll need the whole day, I think, to get through the mountains by train. Percy, why'd you have to tick off Zeus?"

"If you two don't want to continue with me, go board the next plane. Since you have enough money and all," I snapped, angered that she would want to blame me. It wasn't my fault that Zeus didn't like me. "I'm sorry that my idea of horses gave you so much, whether good or bad." I stalked off towards the door and was about to yank it out of my way when Annabeth grabbed my arm, spun me around, and pushed me against the wall. Her hands pressed against my shoulders, keeping me prisoner.

"You can't leave," she tried to order.

I smirked. "Yeah? Who has the prophecy on this quest?" I reminded her. "If we went by plane, everybody would most likely die when Zeus blasts me out of his region. Including you. If you want to leave and fly back, fine. I won't try to stop you. But you can't continue without me."

I crossed my arms in front of me, and watched as Annabeth frowned, her gray eyes confused.

"Fine," she spat, letting me go and pushing me aside. "I'm going to get some food." She left the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Dude, that is so messed up," Nico said, grinning. I glared at him, grabbed spare clothes from my backpack, and went into the bathroom for a much needed shower.

When I came out after an hour of scrubbing my hair to get all of the dirt out, Annabeth was sitting cross-legged on the bed, her head in her palms, staring blankly at the television. She looked up when she saw me, and the corner of her mouth tugged upwards, as if she wanted to smile.

"Hey, I'm really sorry," she said, getting up and coming over to face me. Her face was still smudged with dirt, and her hair was still tangled. Nonetheless, that didn't stop her from hugging me and pressing her face into my shoulder. I thought that girls had to be clean to do that, not covered in muck. Not that I minded, of course.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you," she said. "It was really cruel of me to say that, when we both know that it isn't your fault. I just get frustrated sometimes that you're such a hero."

Did she really just call me a hero?

"Of course people and gods will be mad at you for what you did and will do."

"Oh, thanks a lot," I mumbled, smiling.

"I mean it." She pulled back from me to look me in the eyes. No matter how much filth she was covered in, her eyes always stayed the same. "It's really not your fault."

"I'm glad that you realize that." I grinned devilishly. "And I hope that you realize that you are filthy. I think you should clean up a bit."

She slapped my arm, gathered her things, and disappeared into the bathroom. I wondered if there would be any warm water left for her to use.

It took me five minutes to realize that Nico wasn't in the room, sitting in a corner, silent as the grave like he was prone to do. I walked over and rapped on the bathroom door.

"Where's Nico?" I called.

"Went to get something to eat and to check on Cetus!" she yelled back over the water. "He said that he'd be back by four!"

It was two-thirty, so I settled back on one of the single beds and flicked through the station on the television, hoping to find something entertaining. I came across a mythology program, specifically about the history of the gods and goddesses, heroes and creatures. Wondering if I would one day be considered a hero, I turned up the volume just a tiny bit.

I was shocked when Annabeth came out of the bathroom with damp hair. Usually, she would style it until she was happy with it, but this wasn't something I was used to. It was a darker blond and was only very wavy, not curly.

"What did you do?" I wondered, staring at her. She frowned.

"What?"

"Your hair!"

"You don't like it?" she asked, thoroughly confused.

"No." I paused. "It's just different than I'm used to." Understanding, she grinned and plopped herself down next to me. I followed her movements.

"Yeah, so? I don't have the strength to comb it out right now." She rolled her eyes and held up a comb. "If you don't like it so much, _you _can comb it out for me."

I stared at the comb apprehensively, unsure. I reached for it, and she handed it over, laughing at me and the expression that must have been on my face.

"But if I let you comb out mine, you have to let me try and tackle yours," she bargained. I shrugged, and started pulling it through her thick, damp hair.

She was trying to tame my hair when Nico came back.

"Styx, Percy," he groaned. "She got to you. Now I'm all by myself. It won't be long before she tries to pamper me, too."


	13. The Wild One

Disclaimer: I do not own PJATO. Rick Riordan does.  
A/N: Sorry about not updating. You're probably upset with me. But I absolutely _had _to read _The Last Olympian _first. Forgive me? And yes, I did write a long fanfic about that, too. Oops. Lo siento (I'm sorry in Spanish). So, it's getting closer to the end! I'm getting really excited about finishing this. I have an amazing ending planned. I can't wait to read your input when it's finally over.

It really wasn't that bad with Nico. I told him—when Annabeth wasn't around—that when he really liked someone he would put up with that, too. I didn't tell him that it was easy for me. He had shrugged, muttered something incoherent under his breath, and stomped away from me, probably so whatever sickness I had wouldn't rub off on him.

Anyways, I was staring up at the plain white ceiling, trying to will myself to fall asleep. It wasn't working too well. I wondered if Hypnos, god of sleep, would come for a short visit. Anything would have been greatly appreciated.

But he didn't, and I was stuck gazing lazily at something totally pointless and unimportant. Oh, by the way, I was lying on the ground. There were only two beds, and Nico and Annabeth had claimed them. Annabeth argued that she was a girl (no, really?) and Nico said that I was older and should be mature about it and let him sleep there, like a good friend would do. Annabeth had shrugged, signaling to me that she was siding with Nico, but didn't want to tell me that.

So I had to get extra sheets and a pillow and plop myself down near the wall across from the beds. And why didn't I sleep on a semi-comfortable couch, or available chair? Because there wasn't a freaking one in the room, that's why! You would have thought that there would be _something _in that room besides the beds, televisions, and lamps. But no! There was only the dirty carpet covering the ground! I was pretty upset, as you can tell. And if you can't, go get help or something.

I heard someone shift in their hopefully bedbug-infested bed, and I saw a blond halo appear.

"Percy, are you still awake?" Annabeth asked groggily, running a hand through her hair.

"Yup," I deadpanned. "But I don't know how, I mean this floor is so comfortable." My eyes rolled unintentionally.

"Sorry."

"No, you're not," I replied. Kind, I know. Hey, I was cranky.

"Yes, I am sorry." She shifted some more. "Come and sit up here with me." My joints were stiff as I heaved myself from the ground and onto her mattress. I felt nothing attack me, and could only assume that there were no bedbugs.

"So, how've you been?" Annabeth began nervously.

"Do you really have to ask?" I semi-laughed, shaking my head. "But how've you been?"

"Happy right now." She grinned at me, her teeth gleaming. "Although I'm sorry that you have to sleep on the floor."

"Me, too."

Even in the near dark, I could see a thoughtful look come across her face.

"What?" I asked.

She just said to herself, "It should be big enough."

I got worried. "What are you thinking."

"Come and sit next to me." Her back was against the headboard, her feet near my crossed legs. I did as she said, her hip against mine. "It'll work." She flipped the covers over my legs and slid down so her head was on the pillow.

"Wha...?" I spluttered. She smiled like a lynx.

"You can sleep here instead on the floor. _Sleep_," she emphasized. My eyes almost fell out of my head. Was she going insane!

I decided not to let a good night's sleep evade me, so I squirmed until I was next to her, lying on my back, looking at her. She giggled a little.

"What do you say?"

"This is insane, we'll get into huge trouble with your mother, and thank you." She smiled and planted a kiss on my cheek.

"Goodnight." She turned over to so her side so her back was to me, and there was little room for maneuvering. But I managed to get comfortable and I fell asleep almost instantly.

In the morning, I found myself on my side with my arm draped around Annabeth's waist, that hand in both of hers, and her warm body leaning slightly against mine, hair splayed out around her like the rays of the sun. I glanced at the clock, and it was only a quarter after seven.

Glancing over at Nico, I saw that he was still asleep, and probably would be for a while. I stroked Annabeth's long, now-curly head, and she opened her eyes and stiffened.

"What happened?" she demanded.

I shushed her, looking over at Nico again. "Nothing. Nothing happened, Annabeth. You would have remembered. And if you didn't, I would have," I said bravely. She hit me, sighed, and closed her eyes, mouthing a blessing or something. Or maybe saying how stupid I was.

"We should get going. Breakfast," she said, sounding like Grover.

"Alright." I rolled out of the bed and went to wake Nico. "Nico, wake up, dude."

"Guh-way," he mumbled. I was not going to go away just because he asked.

"Come on," I pestered. "Food. Toast, waffles." Usually that worked with Grover. But not Nico.

"Five more minutes," was what I think he said.

"No." Determined, I walked into the bathroom and got one of those little paper cups from the dispenser, filled it with very cold water, and went back and dumped it on Nico's face.

"I'm up!" he yelled, wide awake now. "That was unnecessary."

"Yes it was," I countered, tossing the little cup at him. He didn't see it until it hit his nose and bounced off. I suppressed a smile.

"Idiot," Nico grumbled, wiping up the water with the sheets. His pale face screwed up in a grimace as he poked himself in the eye. I turned away so I wouldn't be tempted to laugh anymore.

Annabeth disappeared into the bathroom, and I ordered room service. It came up just as Annabeth came out of the bathroom, looking better and fully dressed.

"Oh, yum." She went to the cart and grabbed a plate with a waffle on it and started eating.

I asked, "When are we going to leave?"

"As soon as we're finished eating," Nico decided, going to help himself.

We ate, and soon we were hailing a taxi.

"How's Cetus doing?" I asked Nico. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, I always knew that it was possible," he said.

"What?" I pushed. He looked at me sadly.

"He met up with some other hellhounds running around somehow, and now he won't answer to me. I mean, I could always order him to heel and whatever, but... The other hounds have influenced him too much. He's not like Mrs. O'Leary anymore, Percy." He looked at the yellow cab that pulled up to the curb. "It's hard to keep a hellhound trained to be nice. It's not like this hasn't happened before."

"Is he okay, though?" Annabeth asked for me.

Nico nodded. "He'll be fine. He's heading towards the mountains, last time I checked. Going to try to make it to the Underworld, where he belongs." He glanced at me. "Nothing personal."

We rode in the cab for an hour or so, but the cab driver wasn't upset. Annabeth paid him well.

"Some things speak for themselves," she whispered to us as she paid more than she should have. "Believe me." And I guess Nico and I did, because we didn't speak a word.

But the taxi wasn't allowed through the mountain chain. "You guys going to be alright?" The guys asked.

"We're fine," I assured him, shutting the door hard.

The mountains were tall and wide, and definitely not where you should be if you were a demigod. I could feel chills running down my spine, and I had a bad feeling that there were some monsters in there.

"What's in there?" Nico asked, mouth agape.

"I think..." Annabeth trailed off. A growl could be heard from somewhere within the tall giants.

"Um, that sounds _big_," Nico reasoned.

"You think?" I said sarcastically. Nico nodded.

"I think it's the Erymanthian Boar." Annabeth swallowed.

"Let me guess," I said. "Hercules killed it."

"Pretty sure you're right." Hey, one for one! "One of his labors or something."

"Huh?"

"Read a book."

"I can't."

"And why not?" She wondered.

"Dyslexic," I replied, pointing to my chest. Annabeth shook her head.

A line from the prophecy sounded in my head. _To pass through the land of the wild one, repay your debt. _

"The wild one," I spoke eerily. Annabeth and Nico looked at me. "From the prophecy." I spoke the line again to remind them.

"Of course. A wild boar. Well, Percy, what d'you owe?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"I don't know!" I rolled my eyes. "Sheesh, I'm not like the Stoll brothers. I guess we'll just have to find out later."

"Fine," Nico groaned, unhappy. We trudged ahead.

A/N: So, what do you think? I had the first part already written, but I wasn't sure about it. And how about that prophecy starting to come into play, hmm? Reviews are like chocolate.


	14. Cinch, what!

**Disclaimer: I don't own this series. There, I said it.  
A/N: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! You're probably thinking, 'What the heck happened to this girl that she can't update for weeks?' Well, I most likely would have updated this over a week ago (notice the term 'most likely'), because I had about a page done. But I had been fighting with my sister, which made me make the characters fight. I could have made it work, but that's really not where I wanted this story to go, and plus I didn't like it at all, either. So, I'm taking time out of my busy day (sleeping is next on my list) to finally get this up here for you guys to read. I haven't read the chapter that I'm beta-ing yet, and I haven't replied to the most recent review from **_**riptide17**_**. So I'm sorry. This chapter is dedicated to all of you who are angry at me but pleased that I finally got this up. And **_**riptide17 **_**as well. Thanks!**

Somehow, we came across this path that led us about…uhm…one mile up into the mountains, where a hiking facility was parked. It was loaded with lots of gear for different types of trips—you know, hiking versus climbing—and it even had a schedule when a free trip would be led to the next stop in the mountains, and then the ones after that. I must say, it seemed well thought out. Of course, Annabeth disagreed.

"What happens when you get to the other side? Your car will just magically appear? And what about the economy? Do they really have that much money to spare?"

"I don't think you have to go all the way through. You know, like go a quarter of the way in and back for a couple of days. Honeymoon for the adventurous types," Nico said, shrugging. "But what do I know?"

"Not much," I whispered, just wondering what he would do if he heard me.

"Oh yeah, Jackson? And pray tell me what you know." Pray tell? What the heck was that supposed to mean.

"Um, I speak modern English. Are you from the medieval times or something? 'Pray tell,'" I scoffed, trying to contain my laughter.

"Apparently, he doesn't even know our language, Nico," Annabeth butted in, looking at me sideways. "Let us carry on with our journey with the utmost urgency."

"I understood you guys," I informed them as they walked towards the building where all types of stuff was sold and rented. The lady at the counter looked up lazily.

"What can I do for you?" She chewed on her gum loudly and obnoxiously.

"How far does the path go into the mountains?"

"All the way across. There are other chains run by different people, but ours is the shortest."

"Ooh, perfect. When does the next group leave?" Annabeth wondered, totally excited.

"Tomorrow, six in the morning. Travel about one fifth through a day. But that's only because we have lift systems that will carry people across wide gaps and up steep mountainsides. It's the only way people will come, because everyone else is too lazy." She had a funny drawl to her voice, and her eyes kept drooping, like she had been out really late last night.

"Is there a place where we may stay until then?" Nico inquired.

The lady just stared at him.

"Is there?" I pressed, trying to get an answer out of this stupid woman with the big bleached hair. She pointed down the path.

"You kids can go a mile, can' cha? Do you have money to pay for the equipment?"

"How much for the three of us?"

"Since you're going all the way across, it'll cost more," she warned. No, you think?

Annabeth nodded her curly head. "We understand. How much?"

"Three hundred. That'll include all the food and water that you'll need, along with sleeping bags and heat in the lodges along the way. Capuche?" I was pretty sure that she meant to say something along the lines of 'capiche' (_you _try spelling a word that's more of a sound when you're dyslexic) but with her accent that's how it came out. Nico put a hand to his mouth, his eyes shining.

Annabeth wordlessly counted out the money, handed it to her, and waited. She took her own sweet time getting our crap together.

"It'd be best if you kept your harnesses on at night. Too much wearing of the straps can be dangerous." Again, you think? "They're not that uncomfortable, and it'll save you time as well."

She was even more idiotic than I was at times.

Nonetheless, Annabeth thanked the lady as we took our stuff that weighed fifty pounds easy off the countertop.

We spread out the stuff on the ground outside, but Annabeth was the only one who knew what everything was for and how to put it on. She had herself strapped in before I untangled the packs from the harnesses.

"Why do we need harnesses?" I asked her, frowning.

"So we can strap ourselves to each other in case someone falls."

"Oh great, so we'll die too."

"No, we'll save their life."

"Great."

"You'll thank everyone when they save _your _life."

"Thanks for the confidence. Now can you get over here and help?" I stood exasperated with my arms crossed, glaring at the offensive equipment. Annabeth strode over and held up a few pieces before, I assume, finding the one she wanted.

"Okay, step into this like it's a pair of pants." Simple enough. I tried and got my foot stuck and fell over. My face turned red.

"Don't strangle yourself," Nico chortled, holding his stomach.

I sent him a dirty look. "Shut up. You're next," I reminded him. He sobered.

Annabeth untangled my foot for me, and I pulled up the blue thing to my waist.

"Now, cinch it so it's snug." What?

"Pray tell," I muttered. Annabeth's eyes rolled, and she grabbed the harness at my hip and pulled. I pressed my lips together as she did the same for the other side and the one that went across my lower back.

"Do your own front," she said, leaving me to help Nico. I looked down and saw what she meant. It looked like one of those really old fashioned belts that old men wore, with the strange buckle. I weaved the thingy through it and pulled carefully, so I wouldn't…tighten it too much and…yeah.

I was able to figure out that the one that matched the one I already had on was supposed to be hooked to my upper torso, and I slipped it on and tightened it as best as I could. I couldn't reach the back. Only the gods know how Annabeth was able to do that herself.

Half hour later we were all strapped up and ready to go. The counter lady waved at us half-heartedly, and we were on our way.

The walk to the cabin had so many beautiful sights. The sky was layered in textured clouds, fluffy and varying shades of white. The sun could not be seen through the thick layers and the mountains, but the temperature increased slowly but surely as we traveled along.

The mountains were definitely something else. I had no idea that something like this could go so high up into the sky. Well, except for Olympus, that is. I wondered—and I was sure that Annabeth wondered this as well—how that beast of a monster was doing under Helens. I hoped that he wouldn't break through just as we walked past him. We'd get blasted to smithereens, or worse, probably. I hated to think of what worse entailed. Maybe a light snack before he devoured everything else? Who knew. I didn't like to think of it either way.

After about forty minutes, we made it to the campsite.

What the…?

**A/N: Ooh, cliffhanger!! That'll make me want to update sooner, because it'll be killing me, too. I was really glad how this turned out, compared to what I had planned before. And you may be thinking (I know I was) 'why the heck would that woman let them go through the mountains without an adult escort?' Well, here's the deal—and you wouldn't know this unless it was from her POV. Maybe I'll just write it down here from her POV so you get it. Yeah, I'll do that. **_**Bonus alert!**_** For not updating like I should have… =[**

Three kids walked up to her, bold as anything, and she just chewed her gum, leaning out on the counter an inch below the service window. She didn't care. What did she ever care about? Her nephew. That was it. Not even her brother; just his son. The only thing that she didn't wish was better. But that was life.

"What can I do for you?" she deadpanned, taking in the sight of all three of them. The black-haired green-eyed boy reminded her of her nephew. About the same age, she wagered, with almost the same look in his eyes. Except this boy's eyes were more wild, somehow. He was the tallest, but she had a feeling that he wasn't the oldest. The blond girl looked like she had a good head on her shoulders, just from the way that she stood, her eyes appraising the fellow teen with knowing eyes. Definitely friends.

But that little punk kid? With the black clothes? He radiated something not good, and it reminded her of the time that her cat had gotten extremely sick and died within two days. So sudden…

"How far does the path go into the mountains?" the tall one asked, drawing her attention back to him. Didn't even bother to ask her what her name was. It was Lisa. But then again, she didn't ask for theirs, either.

"All the way across." Didn't they know how to read the map? "There are other chains run by different people, but ours is the shortest." Of course she gave them that information. They looked like they had to be somewhere for some reason.

"Ooh, perfect. When does the next group leave?" The blond said this to her. She liked

"Tomorrow, six in the morning. Travel about one fifth through a day. But that's only because we have lift systems that will carry people across wide gaps and up steep mountainsides. It's the only way people will come, because everyone else is too lazy." Stupid fat Americans. Where she came from when she was a little girl, people were normal-sized. Unlike here, where there was a fast-food chain every two blocks, begging you to let them clog your arteries for you.

"Is there a place where we may stay until then?" the kid asked.

She just stared at him. She didn't like the aura that was floating off him in waves, just like a tidal pool. Gave Lisa the heebie-jeebies.

"Is there?" Man these kids had no patience with an older person. Fifty, and already they thought that they could just ask whatever they wanted. She pointed towards a path and rolled her eyes when they weren't looking.

"You kids can go a mile, can' cha? Do you have money to pay for the equipment?" If they didn't, she was going to call the police.

"How much for the three of us?"

"Since you're going all the way across, it'll cost more," she warned. Bet that they didn't have any money.

The blond nodded her curly head. "We understand. How much?"

"Three hundred. That'll include all the food and water that you'll need, along with sleeping bags and heat in the lodges along the way. Capíche?"

The girl wordlessly counted out the money, handed it to her, and waited. Lisa took her time getting the stuff that they would need, because she had to think on whether or not she should let them go. There were sure to be others on the trip. She would see more customers later in the day, no poblemo. The girl would surely keep the others in line, especially that goth kid, right? She seemed smart. She must be friends with them for a reason. I grabbed sized that would most likely fit them and handed them over. She gave some final words of advice before they left.

"It'd be best if you kept your harnesses on at night. Too much wearing of the straps can be dangerous. They're not that uncomfortable," she promised, "and it'll save you time as well."

"Thank you very much," the girl said. Lisa liked her. A lot. She had nice manners.

**A/N: So there that is. Hope that helps to explain where her…um…train of thought was going. And I know it wasn't really that entertaining to read, but…hey. And I mostly copied and pasted most of it from above, so a lot of it's really similar/the same.  
Reviews are just like sugar—you can get high off of them. And this is the longest chapter I've ever posted for this story!!!  
**


	15. Nico: MIA

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJATO...**

**A/N: Um, yeah. Need I say more besides _sorry!_? I think that covers _everything. _I sincerely apologize for not updating this story. My bad. Hope you all enjoy this chapter!! :D**

The cabin was amazing! It had heat and air conditioning, and even a flat screen television. It was so awesome! Nico and I turned on the flat screen and flipped through the hundreds of channels until we found one with canoe racing. That was something that we knew stuff about, considering that we held our own races. I always won. Wonder why?

"This is just to make us think that everything's going to be like this from now on. But it won't. I'll be surprised if we have heat in the other cabins," Annabeth called to us from the kitchen. We even had a kitchen? With food? I had to check that out.

She was looking in the refrigerator when I got in there, and she pulled out a packet of deli sliced ham and turkey. Tossing that onto the table alongside the Italian bread and tomato, she submerged herself once again and tossed a head of lettuce at me.

"Can you clean that for me?" she asked, keeping her head in the fridge. I raised an eyebrow.

She looked up at me. "You forget how incompetent I am with some things, Annabeth. Kelp head." I pointed to my forehead.

"Sorry, Seaweed Brain, I forgot." She closed the door and took the lettuce from me. "Watch and learn, ocean boy."

I did watch, and it didn't seem as bad as I thought. Rinse and carefully rip. But when she offered to let me do, I told her that I didn't want to be responsible.

"If I screw it up, I'll get yelled at."

"I won't yell at you," she promised.

"Nico would." I looked over my shoulder at him sitting on the couch, flipping through channels again, looking for something better.

She deliberated. "No he wouldn't. Here." Annabeth forcibly handed it to me, and I took it reluctantly and continued where she left off, doing an okay job. It still looked like lettuce when I was finished. I made Annabeth make and wrap the sandwiches. I was not going to have Nico yell at me because I didn't put everything in the right order. You'd be surprised how picky some people are.

"Why are you putting saran wrap on my lunch?" Nico wondered from the other room, getting to his feet.

"Because we're going to take them with us for lunch tomorrow. We won't really get to eat lunch because we'll be hiking, and I'm sure that everything will be gone by the time everyone else gets here," Annabeth replied sensibly. "We'll do that every night."

"Yes, mother," Nico muttered cryptically under his breath as Annabeth went to sit on the couch.

"I heard that, Nico!" she snapped at him. I grinned at Nico as he grimaced and went to hide from her for a while. I probably would have, too.

Annabeth and I watched the T.V. for a while until more 'hikers' showed up. Mostly they seemed nervous to even be in the cabin. I hoped that they wouldn't keep us from keeping up a good speed later.

One of the girls—she seemed about nineteen, maybe—stood in the front of the room and clapped her hands together twice.

"Alright, all you hikers," she announced loudly. It was obvious that she would lead us on this escapade. Everybody went quiet. "We're leaving tomorrow morning at six a.m. Anybody who's not fully awake won't be able to come, so I suggest getting a good night's sleep and having a couple cups of coffee in the morning." A few people chuckled.

She disappeared into the kitchen, and left everyone else alone.

"It's getting close to seven," Annabeth said in my ear. "Should probably eat and grab a bunk before they're gone." I nodded and followed her back into the kitchen and watched as she made more sandwiches for three and handed one to me. I ate it silently, watching her as she went to find Nico from his hiding spot.

The nineteen-year-old came over to the table and sat down across from me.

"So, what's your name?" she asked, brushing her hair back behind her shoulder. She was fairly attractive, for a mountain guide. I always thought they'd be covered in muck and grime, like I usually am. Well, when I'm out on a quest, I mean. I'm not _always_ so filthy.

I swallowed. "Percy," I answered. "Yours?"

"That's an interesting name," she mused. I felt my face heating up. "I'm Hannah." She held out her hand, and I took it. It was icy cold, and seemed to strong for a girl. Not that I'm implying that girls are weak, it's just that it didn't match her appearance.

"Who are you here with?" Hannah asked after another minute.

"A couple of friends," I replied vaguely. She really didn't need to know the details.

"Oh, how fun. I'll see you later." She smiled and left, and Annabeth immediately come up and took her vacated seat.

"What was that all about?" she demanded. I shrugged.

"No clue."

"I don't like her," she stated, leaning closer to me.

I nodded. "Somethings off," I agreed, finishing my sandwich. It was really good. I never knew Annabeth was the type who could make great sandwiches. But she was.

"What do you mean?"

So I told her about how strong she was and how she asked who I was with.

"Who'd you tell her you were with?"

"A couple friends. I tried to make it sound unimportant and casual." I shrugged. "It was the only thing that came to mind. Hide the truth."

"Well, not _all_ of the truth. You did spill your name," she pointed out. "And since when are Nico and I just a 'couple of friends'?"

"First with the name thing; if she had gone and asked you about me, how would you know that it was me if I gave her a fake name and didn't have time to tell you? And second, you're not just a couple of friends," I assured her. "See? I actually _do _have a brain."

"Who would've thought?" she teased.

"And who would've thought that you could make good sandwiches? Not me, that's for sure."

She punched my arm and said she was going to make sure that Nico had eaten the food she gave him.

Two minutes later, she ran back to me, grabbed my arm, and hauled me aside into one of the bathrooms.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately. Annabeth's gray eyes were worried, and she nervously ran a hand through her hair and began pulling it all back from her face into a hair tie.

"Nico," she whispered. "I saw him follow that Hannah chick, and when I went to follow, I couldn't see him anymore."

"You mean he's gone?"

Annabeth nodded, and put her hands on my shoulders.

"We can't leave him. But my mom is still in trouble. What should we do?"

She was coming to me to ask what we should do? Was she sick?

"Are you okay?" She looked at me with a confused expression and nodded. "You're asking _me _to decide what to do between Nico and your mom?" I paused to make sure she got the whole deal.

"Oh, right, why _am _I asking you?" She shook her head and laughed humorlessly. "My mom is the goddess of wisdom. I don't think it'd be intelligent for us to go after Nico when a _goddess _needs help," she decided.

"Unfortunately, I'm not going to try to disagree with you here," I claimed.

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain." She kissed my cheek and immediately opened the door and left.


	16. Treaded Toes? Not So Much

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, as much as I'd like to. **

**A/N: READ THE CHAPTER BEFORE THIS ONE BEFORE YOU READ THIS ONE OR YOU'LL BE LOST. I deleted my Author's Note Chapter and added another one, so it didn't register as a new chapter. Everyone who reads this one will think it's the long-awaited new chapter, and it's actually not. So, the chapter before this one it titled Nico: MIA. Go read that one, and then come back, okay? I promise this chapter will still be here for you to read. Go now. That's an order. =]**

After Annabeth kissed me, I quickly followed her out of the bathroom and into the room where our stuff was. Nico's equipment was missing, which meant that he had it with him. A bad sign.

Want to know another bad sign? Hannah was nowhere to be found. Annabeth and I casually asked all the other hikers where she was, but no one remembered her. At all.

Which left Annabeth and myself completely lost.

Both of us knew that we needed to save Athena before looking for Nico more than we already had. We shouldn't have looked for him, like we said we wouldn't.

Annabeth and I sat at the kitchen table again, trying to figure out where to go from here.

"I think we should leave right now," Annabeth suggested. I just looked at her, know that she'd eventually continue. "I mean, there's no point in waiting for the next guide to come. We've already lost a lot of time as it is, and these lazy bums'll only slow us down." She looked into my eyes for a long time, and I didn't say a word.

After five minutes she sighed, got up, and brought our equipment to the table.

"Do we really want all this?" I asked. "I don't think it's completely necessary."

"You're right." Annabeth got rid of some of the bulkier stuff, but kept a couple cords of rope. "Once we get going, I think it'd be best if we are tied to each other. In case you slip." I ignored the jab to my pride.

She quickly gathered some more food into a backpack, shouldered it, and together we walked out into the night air.

"Should we wait for tomorrow?" I wondered, taking the rope she held out to me and tying it to the harness I still wore. She shook her head.

"Neither of us are really tired, I think, and tomorrow people will notice if we go off on our own tomorrow. Better to avoid suspicion as much as we can. You never know what could happen."

And that's why she made most of the decisions.

"True," was my only reply. She came over to make sure that I had tied my knot correctly—which I did—and then we were off, heading west.

I won't go into all the trouble we got into marching over the mountains, but just know that it was a lot of hard work. Thankfully, there was always a cabin after a day's hike. Neither one of us died, thank the gods, and eventually we made it out of the mountain range. It was terribly cold there, and most of the time I couldn't feel my fingers.

It was a miracle that we weren't attacked, because we weren't in shape to fight. And I don't even want to get into what Annabeth and I talked about the whole time. Don't even ask.

Once we got back into civilization, we ditched the equipment and hailed a cab, asking the guy in the front seat to take us to the nearest clothing store. We were pretty grimy.

Annabeth and I got quite a few stares as we walked into the store, but we ignored everybody and jut focused on finding something that was comfortable and durable. I settled for a pair of dark blue jeans, a green shirt, a windbreaker, and a pair of tennis shoes. I never wanted to wear boots again. After we paid, we left the store and went into the restaurant to change. Annabeth came out looking like a super model or something. She had on a gray sweater and a pair of tight-fitting pants with sturdy yet somehow fashionable black boots. And that was before she put on the white vest with a gazillion pockets. She looked _amazing_.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain," she called, snapping me out of my trance.

"What?"

"Stop staring and let's get going." She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the restaurant and out into the bustling city of wherever the heck we were.

We were doing fine until the god that hated me showed up riding his favorite motorcycle.

Ares.

Oh, for the love of Zeus.

"Hey, little water boy," he greeted. "And lovely Annabeth. I actually don't like you anymore."

"That's alright," Annabeth replied cheerily, waving a hand to dismiss the comment. "How are you doing, anyways?"

Ares didn't know whether she was messing with him or being serious. "What are you up to? Out on another _quest_, are we? How about you let your Uncle help you out, hmm?"

_Beware of those whose toes you tread _came into my mind. I definitely needed to watch out and mind my footing around Ares. I still don't think that he fully forgave me. I don't think I'd forgive me, either. Or forget.

"You don't need to trouble yourself with us," I piped in. "Thanks for the offer though. But I really think that we can take care of things ourselves." Ares stared at me. "Um, right, Annabeth?"

She nodded.

"Really, Lord Ares, there's no need to trouble yourself," Annabeth echoed. She was slowly retreating, taking small steps that appeared casual.

Aphrodite suddenly walked out from a narrow alley way and come to stand behind us, putting a hand on each of our shoulders.

"Listen to the girl, Ares," she cooed. "Let's go and get out of this filthy city. It's making my hair flat, love. Come on." She stepped past us, putting Annabeth and I out of Ares' view. Annabeth slapped her cap onto my head and pushed me into the alleyway, following right on my heels. I saw Ares glance at her, but he was taking Aphrodite's arm and leading her to his motorcycle. He appeared to have forgotten about us for the time being.

We waited in silence until we heard the motorcycle drive away, and then we both sighed in relief.

"Percy, where are you?" Annabeth wondered, looking around to see if I'd suddenly appear. I kept her cap on, though, which only made her angry.

"Give me my hat back," she demanded, putting her hands on her hips, looking attractive. I snuck up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, planting a kiss on her neck.

"Percy!" she nearly yelled, spinning around and knocking the hat off my head. I knew that she could see me now, as she stared into my eyes, looking angry. "You tell me right now why I shouldn't leave you here right now and continue on my own."

"Because you like me too much," I proclaimed boldly, getting closer to her again.

"Oh, really?" She fluttered her eyelashes at me, and I tried to kiss her again, but she wouldn't let me. She backed away, but I could see that she wasn't totally mad at me anymore.

"Not fair," I complained, frowning. "That's not very nice."

"Oh, it isn't, is it?" I shook my head. She came closer, right up to me, and put her arms around my neck. "I think Aphrodite put a spell on you."

"I have to disagree. It's all your fault," I promised.

"My fault?" She stepped back, but I wouldn't let her get any further away from me, and I stepped closer. I could smell her hair, which still smelled like lemons. It wasn't sour, but sweet.

"Yes, your fault." I didn't allow her to say anything else as I pressed my mouth against hers.

I could have stayed like that forever, but for one, Annabeth wouldn't let me, and second, we still had to save her mother.

"Don't you say anything to anybody," Annabeth warned. I shook my head.

"I value my life too much," I joked. She smiled, and kissed me once more before we left the alley and continued down the street, where there was a train station.

**A/N: So, two updates in one day!! Aren't you proud of me? Well, the story is coming to a close, probably only three more chapters or so. Then maybe I'll post another one-shot, like the one that I already have. Hopefully you all enjoy this early Christmas present! And maybe you'll give me a present, you know, like a _review_? Oh, that would be amazing! So you see that button right down there? Click it. Click it, I say! :D**


	17. Please Don't Hate Me, Lady Athena?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, movie or book series. **

**A/N: I know it's been a long while. This will probably be the last chapter, unless you review and ask for an epilogue. It's been great fun writing this, but it needs to end soon. I can't drag it out and still expect it to be good.  
On second thought, maybe not. I **_**may **_**post an epilogue on my own. I'm taking time out of working on my two HUGE projects to type this for you.  
Please show me how much you appreciate it and review. It would mean a lot.

* * *

**

We made it into the train station, but stopped short. Well, Annabeth did. She stared at a woman with a purple coat on with curly hair. The woman was staring at the train schedule. Annabeth stepped closer. I followed behind her.

"Oh, please. This is totally irrelevant. Just take the 3:30 train to the next station, and wait five minutes for the next train out. Honestly, the way humans think of ways to get things done," she grumbled, pushing back her hair.

She'd said 'humans,' which made me think that she could possibly be something other than one.

Annabeth stepped even closer now, going to stand right beside the woman. I screamed at her in my head, wondering what the heck was going on in her brain. She was standing next to a total stranger! It could be that this woman was some unfriendly monster or something. I wanted to grab Annabeth's arm and yank her back and drag her out of the station.

The trouble was that would call attention to us. And I'd probably be arrested for molesting her or something stupid like that.

She would _not _be happy with me after that, let me tell you.

"So, Annabeth," the woman began. I froze, half a step closer to her, ready to pull her away. "You came. I didn't expect you to come."

"Of course I would." Annabeth convincingly studied the train schedule. "You're right, your idea is much more efficient."

"Isn't it?" The woman sighed, and turned to face me. "Let's get this over with, Percy Jackson."

She walked passed me into the open air, and I followed behind her, Annabeth after me.

How in Hades did Athena get _here_? Wasn't she, like, captured or something? That was the whole purpose of everything we went through.

And it was for nothing?

Aw, come on!

Athena led the way into a hotel across the way, and took up into one of the big suites that I had only dreamed of being in.

"Now," she started, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She still wore the purple coat. "Annabeth, I appreciate you looking for me. But that was the plan; for me to get captured. I knew that they wouldn't kill me, obviously. They wanted my battle strategies too much." Athena actually _laughed_. Once. But still.

"The dreams—" Annabeth began.

"I couldn't help that, dear. If you would have been at Camp Half-Blood, you would have been informed that they were not real. I hadn't planned on you not being there, a small design flaw of mine."

AKA: huge mistake on her part. Would she fess up to it?

No way. She's _Athena, _and therefore above admitting when she's wrong.

But who's judging her, right?

"It just happened to work out that I was able to effectively escape in time to keep you from trying to locate me any further. I knew you were coming dear. It would have meant death for you if you had." Athena stood up and came forward, and reached out a hand and brushed Annabeth's hair back.

I had no idea what happened next, but Athena was suddenly lowing Annabeth's limp body to the bed.

"She won't remember a thing about this quest," she seemed to say to me. I was debating on whether Athena would really do that.

_She won't remember a thing._

So she wouldn't remember what… happened between us. All the great things we had done together.

Yes, Athena would do that. She hated me. It seemed to be the dominate trait among several of the gods. At no fault of my own.

Okay, so maybe it was partly my fault.

"It's alright, Percy. When she wakes up, she'll be back at Camp Half-Blood." Athena faced me.

"Is that supposed to make me feel any better?" I asked. Athena's eyes darkened. I quickly backtracked. "I mean, when you… knocked her out or whatever, I thought you had killed her and was an evil imposter. Or something."

I looked down at the bed.

Athena came really close to me then, and I wanted to curl up in a ball to escape her evil glare.

You know how all those cartoon characters and generic villains have that 'evil glare' that's supposedly really terrifying?

Well, Athena's glare was the real-deal, and it was worse than terrifying if you asked me. Probably because that's where it was directed at: me.

I needed to get on some of these gods' good sides, soon.

"You don't want to test me. I could as easily kill you as help you get home." She moved her fingers suspiciously.

As I prepared to protect myself, her other hand whipped around and struck my neck. A small pinprick of pain made its way to my brain before I saw the ground rushing up to me.

"You, Percy, will find yourself back at your mother's," were the last words I heard before everything turned black.

**

I woke up to the smell of bacon, hearing it sizzle. I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

Something seemed off, but I couldn't place what it was. It was almost like a dream that I couldn't remember. But it felt more important than a dream.

Jumping out of my bed, I raced into the kitchen.

"What happened?" I asked my mom. She turned and faced me, confusion on her face.

Well, confusion if I was bad at telling if she was lying. Which she definitely was.

"What do you mean, honey? I decided to make bacon this morning?" she said innocently. Frowning, I left her in the kitchen and went back to my room.

There was a note sitting on my desk.

_You won't be able to remember, Percy. Just know that everything's fine. _

It was signed by my father, and I could distinctly smell the ocean in my room. He had been here less than two seconds ago, and hadn't even bothered to say hi.

If my father said that everything was fine, then I'd believe him.

But that didn't mean I had to be happy about not remembering what happened. I wanted to talk to Annabeth and ask her if she knew anything, but I remembered that it was Saturday. She was probably busy now, somewhere in the city.

I sighed and fell back onto my bed.

Oh, for the love of Hades.

* * *

**So, should I post an epilogue? Let me know by pressing that adorable button right there that's so cute that you can't resist pushing it. Maybe it'll laugh like the Pillsbury Dough Boy! Ooh, click it, find out, and then tell me what happens, okay? Deal. :D**


	18. Epilogue

**A/N: At first, I thought the chapter was a pretty good one.  
After looking back on it, I don't like it.  
I won't replace it, but I'll post this here epilogue for you all who yelled at me that the last chapter was unsatisfactory. Sorry, guys. Being away from this story has made me loose my magic touch on it, but now I think I'm back on track.  
I hope. Believe me on that. **

**Sorry that I didn't reply to all you lovely people who reviewed. I figured that I could put this up, and then if you review again, I reply to those one. I though you might want this more than a reply.  
My goal for this story is to reach 200 reviews. I think I have approximately 180. So please, tell me your final thoughts!  
ALSO: For you **_**Maximum Ride**_** lovers like myself, as soon as I finish reading **_**Fang **_**when it comes out, I plan to create a story for that, too. It might not be until Spring Break starting the 1****st**** of April, when I'm bedridden after getting my wisdom teeth pulled (yay…**_** note sarcasm**_**) and have nothing to do.  
Now, forward…march! (I'm a marching band geek. These things randomly pop into my little brain here.)

* * *

**

Athena strode around the room on Olympus, pacing. She rarely did this, because it gave the other gods the impression that she couldn't figure something out, or was having a hard time doing it. The many, _many _years of experience were screaming at her to go with what she knew what was right. But her gut—a saying of the humans—was telling her the exact thing she didn't want to listen to.

She lived by reason. Her gut was telling her something other than what she knew, what her 'comfort zone' (another human expression) was.

Footsteps echoed up to her, and she stopped wandering around the throne room. Zeus was off somewhere, preparing for the seemingly inevitable battle coming.

"I should be planning battle strategies," Athena mumbled to herself, too low for anyone to possibly hear. She placed a hand on her father's throne and took a deep breath. His throne always smelled like ozone.

The footsteps were definitely heels, and Athena could only think of one goddess who would wear human shoes up on Olympus: Aphrodite.

The clicking of shoes stopped near the door, but Athena didn't want to turn and see the goddess' beautiful face.

"Hello, Aphrodite," Athena said, in ancient Greek, of course.

"Hmm," Aphrodite mumbled. "You seem to be struggling with the concept of my existence."

That was why Athena didn't want to turn around.

"You still know that I do not approve of your trait," she reminded her. "Many a battle has been struck up between men over that very concept. Beautiful daughters of yours that make men do foolish things."

Aphrodite walked up next to Athena, and Athena caught the scent of her perfume and turned her face away a fraction.

"Ah, but it is not one of my daughters that's causing you trouble, it's one of your own," Aphrodite stated knowingly, placing a hand on Athena's arm for a fraction of a second. "Annabeth is a fairly pretty girl, by my standards. Although, I still don't see why she couldn't have gorgeous _blue _eyes instead of those gray ones. Then many men would be after her, even among the humans. Her hair is pretty and shiny, and—"

"I understand, Aphrodite," Athena cut it. "But something like love and war don't mix very well. They're opposite."

Aphrodite stepped away, and Athena turned her head to look at her.

"Not when you really think about it," Aphrodite said.

"And when have you been known to do that?" Athena questioned rudely. But she had no problem saying what was on her mind now; it was Aphrodite's fault.

"Anything about love I know about. You know that odd human saying, 'All's fair in love and war' or whatever it really is. I don't care to know. But people fight for love, just as people fight for countries. You know this. I know you do."

Aphrodite turned and sighed as she beheld Athena. "You could be so pretty," she commented. "Your expression doesn't always have to be so severe."

Athena shook her head. "Why are you telling me this?" she demanded. "That what I did was wrong?"

The goddess shook her beautiful head. "No, not wrong. Just overcautious. I know how both your daughter and Percy feel, you understand. It's just what I do." She waved a hand to dismiss the simple fact. "He is actually quite the hero, don't you agree? He's rather good-looking, too, a perfect match in my opinion for your daughter. They both fight with each other, help each other. Fight _against_ each other on occasion. It's a rather generic love story, but so few actually go through that. Yes, they get frustrated with each other. But you have to realize that your daughter cares for him, just as much as he cares for her."

"And where does that take them? Trouble?" Athena strode across the room, away from Aphrodite, frustrated, but unwilling to accept that maybe, just _maybe_, she could use a little piece of advice.

"What's between them seems inevitable, if thousands upon thousands of years are worth anything. She's the smart, athletic girl. He's the slower, but heroic, hero. What you have against Poseidon shouldn't come into play here. You know that he suspects what's going on between them. He isn't against it. Actually, I get the impression that you will try to keep them apart with the force of an army, not just a concerned mother," Aphrodite chuckled.

"You never answered my question. What did I do wrong?" Athena pressed, her temper rising and her resolve becoming more solid by the second.

"You're just trying to postpone the inevitable." Aphrodite shrugged, but Athena didn't see. "Talk to the boy when you have a chance, if he lives through everything. But let them be. You'll only make Annabeth unhappy." Aphrodite thought for a minute, then added, "You don't have to undo that spell you put on them."

"It's not a spell," Athena grumbled. "It was something the mortals made up. I just added my own little piece to it."

Aphrodite took no notice. "Nico will have been gone anyways. His father didn't really want him spending so much time with his uncle. They won't miss him in the Underworld. Although you may want to make him forget what happened, too, so he doesn't go and tell Percy and Annabeth, if that's what you want."

"I already have," Athena stated, drawing herself up at being told what to do. Then she got an idea.

"Aphrodite, could you do a favor for me?" she requested.

"What's your idea?"

"Make Percy spend time with that redheaded mortal that he met a while back. I'd like to see for myself how my daughter reacts."

Aphrodite smiled a gorgeous smile.

"That'll be easy. With what's coming up, Percy will need some time away from 'reality'. I can plant a little idea in the girl's head that she misses Percy. She'll ask him to hang out with her. Satisfactory?"

Athena nodded. "You're better than I gave you credit for."

"I know my specialties, as you know yours. Now." Aphrodite moved towards the entrance. "It's time for you to work on yours, don't you think? We need a strategist." Aphrodite shimmered and was gone, leaving Athena alone by herself.

She'd have to speak with Ares for sure. Maybe he could help her out as well. He held a little grudge against the Jackson boy. And if his 'friend' Aphrodite was in on it, he soon would be too.

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**Please tell me if this helps wrap things up. If need be, I can add another epilogue onto this one. I really hope that this cleared some things up. If there's anything I forgot (which is really possible, because I know everything that's happened, but may have forgotten to mention it in any of the chapters up to this one), just let me know SPECIFICALLY (please) what it was, and I'll make sure that I COMPLETELY cover it.

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**That little button is waiting…**

**It's right here \/ You know you want to…**


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